Home is where the Heart is
by nativefloridian
Summary: Beck/Heather. Picks up after S2.
1. Chapter 1

It was busy in the sheriff's office. Ever since the Major had read the evidence on Hawkin's computer, there had been debate on how to handle the situation. While his men were with him in standing up to the Cheyenne government, there was a certain wisdom in not openly declaring it to the world. They were, after all, essentially an island in enemy territory. While Texas was only two states away, it would take time to secure the territory between them. They were coordinating with Texas via Hawkins and Jake.

The plan was to 'take orders' (or pretend to) from Cheyenne for as long as possible, or until Texas secured the territory between them. This would allow them to continue receiving supplies from the ASA and it would also give them time to prepare.

There had been some extremely heated negotiations between Constantino and Major Beck. He was not one to believe that the major had just switched sides, whatever the evidence. Fed up, Beck had finally issued an ultimatum:

"Look, I'm only offering you this alliance because we could use the resources New Bern has to offer. I don't much care for you or your tactics, and would much rather focus on defending Jericho. Either accept this alliance and the conditions, or you are completely on your own against the ASA."

Once the concept was driven home, Constantino had been forced to swallow his pride and accept the deal: New Bern would produce as many munitions as humanly possible, as well as provide some combat elements. There were conditions on who could serve; those who had ever used tactics deemed unacceptable by the major were banned from service in a combat role. This meant that Constantino and most of his deputies were relegated to working in the factories. There was also to be an extensive briefing on the rules of engagement during training. Beck absolutely refused to be associated with a combat force that used terror, torture and murder.

In return, Beck's men would protect New Bern and Jericho would share food resources. Most parties only reluctantly agreed to this, each still wary of the others. But they were forced to admit it was their best chance to survive.

Working out these details without alerting the ASA had been tricky; getting the three parties (Jericho, New Bern, and the 10th mountain division) to meet in person and in private had taken all sorts of conditions, worthy of a spy movie. Each party was allowed to send three people to negotiate, and only one of them could be armed. Gray Anderson had picked deputy mayor Eric Green and Dale Turner as an expert on the town's resources. Major Beck had chosen his second-in-command Captain Dunne and Heather Lisinski for her knowledge of both New Bern and Jericho. Phil Constantino showed up with two of his deputies, Clark Constantino (his brother) and Patrick Carter (also related). As expected, there were animosities. Eric Green still glared at Phil Constantino, but he was actually better than Heather. Heather never once addressed either Constantino, preferring to let Beck speak to them. She also seemed to be acutely uncomfortable, even nervous, with Clark. Worse, Clark seemed to be enjoying the effect he had on her. Beck understood why she wouldn't speak with Phil Constantino, but he made a mental note to ask why she reacted to his brother so strongly. Somehow, they muddled through, and Anderson, Beck, and Constantino managed to shake hands on a deal that would provide all parties with food, munitions, and protection.

After the deal was made, everyone was glad to leave, none more so than Heather. On the ride back to the office, Beck noticed that Heather wasn't herself; she was staring out the window, uncharacteristically quiet and her face tight. Her hands were clenched into equally tight fists in her lap. He tapped her shoulder, and she started at his touch.

"You ok?"

"Not really, but it's over now."

"What's the deal with Clark Constantino?"

"What do you mean 'the deal'?"

"You wouldn't talk to him. Or for that matter, look at him."

"We've met before. I did not enjoy the experience."

"He held you prisoner in New Bern." he stated flatly.

"He interrogated me."

"I'm sorry, Heather. I would never have asked you to come…"

"It's part of my job."

"I think we can make an exception here."

"Look, it's over now. It's in the past." She said with finality, closing the subject.

He nodded, letting her have the last word. But he noticed her knuckles were still white.

**********

Texas was only a few days away from Jericho when the charade fell through. Valente had basically ordered Major Beck to flatten a piece of New Bern as a 'demonstration', which he agreed to do…and never did. Unlike other orders agreed to but not carried out, however, the lack of flaming craters on satellite images tipped off Cheyenne. Major Beck managed to stall them for about a day with 'preparation' and 'planning' excuses.

Having those days of covert preparation had been an immense help. When the first air raid was spotted, preplanned signals were sent out. Civilians were sent to shelters, and combat units were activated. It wasn't perfect; the general population had not been briefed on the deal their leaders had made in private. A call was made to Texas, telling them the jig was up and to please hurry up and get here. And that if they could provide some air support, it would be greatly appreciated.

The sheriff's office shook as bombs fell. Glass shattered, bricks crumbled. A piece of ceiling fell in, narrowly missing Lt. Posly. After what seemed like an eternity, the bombers were chased away by jets from Texas.

As the reports came in, Major Beck was impressed. There was significant property damage, especially here in the center of town, but only a few people had sustained injuries. There was one death from a heart attack. He was upset that Heather was the one handing him the reports, however.

"Why are you still here?"

"I work here" she replied

"You're a civilian. You should have been in a shelter."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I mean it, Heather. Next time you're going. It is not a request."

"You're really going to be pigheaded about this, aren't you?

"I'm the CO around here. It's required."

Heather raised her hand in an impudent salute.

"Yes sir!" she snarked.

"Very funny. Now get out of here, I have calls to make."


	2. Chapter 2

A humvee pulled up at town hall. It was still light out, and people were walking home. A couple of the occupants also wanted to go home, but they had to check in first. They also had a few things to deliver from Texas.

Heather glanced out the window, recognizing familiar faces.

"Jake and Hawkins are back!" she cried, rushing out to greet them. Major Beck followed more sedately, expecting not just the dreadful duo but a liason officer from the Texan military. He was a bit wary about meeting Jake – last time they'd seen each other, he'd had Jake locked up in a pig sty. They'd spoken on the phone since, and it had been civil, but he was pretty sure that Jake wasn't going to forget that interrogation anytime soon.

He needn't have worried so much; Heather had him pinned in a hug, so any hostility Jake may have felt was dissipated. Beck came to attention when he realized that the liaison officer was accompanied by a colonel.

"At ease." Colonel Eddings said. Beck waited as the colonel surveyed the town he'd just entered. It was damaged, but the rubble had been cleared away and repairs begun. "You seem to be in better shape than most places I've seen lately. How are your men holding up?"

"Well enough. They're tired, but morale is good since Texas managed to push the air raids back -"

On the other side of the vehicle, Heather released Jake from the hug.

"So, how was Texas?" she asked him.

"Hot."

"No, really?" She punched him playfully. "Seriously, how is it?"

"Well, there's no bombs dropping down from the sky, if that's what you're asking. It's a madhouse though. Mostly military staging. Refugees coming through, lots of them. And they're all looking for someone. Speaking of which -" He gestured back to the humvee. In it was a little girl, sleeping on the back seat. She'd never seen the girl before, but recognized her anyway.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah. Somehow she ended up at an orphanage in Texas."

The little girl stirred, sensing new surroundings. Her eyes fluttered open, then went wide.

"DADDY!"

Major Beck's head whipped around, military protocol forgotten as he saw his daughter running towards him. He oomphed as she launched herself into his arms.

"Anna. Oh, Anna." He whispered in wonder as he held her close. He just held her for several seconds, then showered her with kisses. "I missed you so much." He repositioned her weight – which was rather more than he remembered – and leaned back to really look at her. Her face - her smile - was exactly as he remembered. He watched as she fiddled with the string around her neck, toying with a trinket. It wasn't until the light hit it that he recognized his wife's wedding ring. He knew instantly, but he had to ask anyway. "Mommy?" Her smile flickered.

"Mommy's in heaven."

His eyes clouded and he hugged his daughter close again. He tried to be thankful; he knew he should be grateful to even get one of them back. He had told himself that finally knowing, even if the news was bad, was better than not knowing. But the news of Maria's death still hit him like a ton of bricks.

Nobody said anything for a time, not wanting to impose on his grief. After several minutes, he slowly became aware of others again, realizing that this little reunion had garnered a fair bit of attention from passersby. He suddenly felt naked in front of everyone. He had spent so many years keeping his personal feelings bottled up until he was off duty and in private, and here he was on main street fighting tears. People began to sense his uneasiness and moved on.

Finally he spoke, and if his voice was a little ragged, nobody mentioned it.

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I don't have better news." replied the colonel.

"How did you find her?"

"Well, when your face made the papers -"

"Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom."

The non-sequitor was a welcome excuse to break up the scene and a refreshingly typical little girl moment. He carried her inside and put her down, pointing to the bathroom. She hurried in.

"My, she's gotten tall." he said to no one in particular. "She's grown an entire foot."

As he stood outside the bathroom door, Colonel Eddings came up to him.

"I know this really isn't a good time, but I need to get a full sitrep ASAP; I'm expected back in Texas in the morning."

"Of course." Anna came out of the bathroom. "Anna, honey, Daddy has to talk to the colonel now. Can you sit down over there for a bit?" She nodded. "Good girl."

In the office, they sat down. Beck found it difficult to stop staring at Anna; she still seemed like a dream that would disappear if he took his eyes off her.

"Sir – Maria – what happened?"

"She caught one of the viruses that went around after the attacks. I can't give you specifics; the woman at the orphanage didn't get anything official, just what she could get out of Anna."

Major Beck paused, eyes closed, imagining what that must have been like for them. He looked back at Anna, whom Heather had engaged in conversation. He stopped himself, took a deep breath, and returned his attention to the colonel.

"Well, the situation has gotten better – we're no longer being bombed. The munitions factory took a lot of damage, but they say that if they can get the proper parts, they can fix it in a few days. The bombings did decrease tensions between the two towns, but I really don't expect that to last." At the colonel's raised eyebrow, he explained. "The two towns had what amounted to a war when I first arrived. It was the worst I'd seen in months." He paused, considering. "We're low on about everything, but we can probably last another two weeks on what we've got. The most critical need is medical supplies, followed by rations."

"So you need parts for manufacturing munitions ASAP, followed by supplies in general, starting with medical?" Col Eddings verified.

"Yes, that about covers it."

"That leaves just one other matter. I'm going to recommend that we use Jericho as a staging point – it's in relatively decent shape, has plenty of open space for expansion, and you seem to have the situation under control. I'll be sending you a construction battalion to set everything up."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll be going now. I imagine you have things to do." The men got up and walked out of the office. "Good day, Colonel Beck." He waited for Beck to react to the new rank, but his eyes were on his daughter, coloring at Heather's desk. Heather, however, did pick up on the rank.

"You've been promoted? Congratulations!"

"What?" Beck asked, coming out of his distraction.

"You've been promoted to colonel" Colonel Eddings told him gently.

"Uh, thank you." Beck stammered out.

Eddings smiled.

"You're welcome. Now go spend some time with your daughter."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Anna put the finishing touches on her latest drawing. Heather appeared to have produced a few crayons from her purse.

"What's this?" now-colonel Beck asked, pointing at her drawings.

"That's the school I went to, that's Mrs. Cathy, that's the playground, and that's my room." She said, pointing each one out in turn.

"I asked her to tell me about Texas, because I've never been there." explained Heather.

"Who's Mrs. Cathy?" He asked.

"She's the house mother, she took care of me."

"Well, I'm going to do that now, Anna." He looked around, his staff was locking up. "You want a tour first, or dinner?"

"A tour of what?"

"Your new home."

"Oh, do I get my own room? I had to share at the orphanage."

Beck grimaced; he'd meant the town of Jericho, not a house. All he had was a tent at base camp. He did not want his daughter living in an army tent, forced to share bathroom facilities with a battalion of men. Heather noticed his face.

"She can stay at my place until you work something out, sir. I've got an extra room. I believe I even have some clothes that fit her."

"I –" His first instinct was to refuse, not wanting to impose on her. "Are you sure?" he asked. Despite the whole office espionage episode, he felt he could trust her with his daughter.

"I can handle it," Heather laughed. "I was a schoolteacher in a past life, remember?"

"Thanks." He realized that his life had just been immensely complicated by all this. He needed to find a place for her to live and take care of all the other things. He was hit with another wave of loss, because Maria was the one who'd be taking care of those things, if she were here. Heather waited patiently until the moment passed.

"Daddy?"

"Actually, you're going to stay at Miss Lisinski's house for a bit. She's a nice lady, which I'm sure you've already discovered."

"Do I get my own room?" she repeated her question.

"Yes, you get your own room." Heather replied with a smile. She looked at Beck. "Why don't you two go have dinner at Bailey's, then come on over? I should clean up a bit before you arrive."

"Sounds like a plan." He turned to his daughter, and swung her up on his shoulders, an action which provoked a squeal of delight. "I'm gonna take you out to the best place in town." he told her.

"Can I get chicken fingers?"

"Sure." He laughed. He was nearly out the door when he remembered – "Heather, where do you live?"

"325 Perry street."

**********

They arrived at Heather's house nearly three hours later. Everyone in town wanted to meet his daughter, it seemed. She seemed to enjoy the attention, but she'd shown signs of tiring so he finally excused them and headed over. He'd never seen Heather's house and wasn't quite sure what he expected, but he was pleased with what he saw when he drove up. It was small but neat and well-kept. The only thing out of place was a random wrench on the front porch. He carried a sleepy Anna up the steps and had raised his hand to knock when the door opened.

"Tuckered out, huh?"

"The whole town wanted to talk to her."

"Well, I can't blame them. She's a sweet little thing."

Beck looked around. It quickly became clear that 'clean up a bit' meant 'hide all the tools from a six year old'. There were shelves everywhere, some covered in books, others with mechanical things in various stages of repair, even a few trophies.

"Where does she sleep?"

"In here." She guided him to the spare room. There was a bed with a doll on the pillow, and she'd even dug up some clothes and toys for her.

"You're amazing." he said, impressed that she could find all this on such short notice.

"Most of it is from my teaching days, you learn to have such things on hand."

Anna stirred slightly in her father's arms, then snuggled in closer.

"Hmmm, I think it's bedtime." He said. He pulled back the sheets and laid her down. He took off her shoes and began to tuck her in. She offered no resistance; she'd had a big day. "Sweet dreams, Anna. I'll see you in the morning."

"Promise?" she asked, sleepily

"Promise." He watched her drift off, savoring her peaceful, steady breaths. After he was sure she was asleep, he stepped out, closing the door softly behind him.

"So when should I come tomorrow?" He asked Heather, heading towards the front door.

"Well, I usually get up around six."

"I'll be here."

"May I ask what you're going to do with her?"

"I hadn't really thought it through. I take it you have a suggestion."

"Tomorrow is a school day. I can get her all set up there."

"I should be doing that." He objected.

"When?" She asked simply. He was forced to concede her point. There were times being the commanding officer sucked.

"All right. It's probably good for her to get right into the swing of things. Although I hate to just dump her on you like this – watching her, registering her for school – I feel like I should be doing this."

"You would if you could. Besides, I don't mind, she's a great kid. I've missed working with kids." They reached the door.

"I can't thank you enough." he told her as he left.


	3. Chapter 3

An unhappy Colonel Beck sat at his desk. The past couple of weeks had been extremely busy setting up that staging area and transfer point that Eddings had recommended. Colonel Beck worked long hours and hated that he saw so little of his daughter, though he always managed to tuck her in at night and eat breakfast with her in the morning. She spent most of her time at school or at Heather's. He knew he could never repay Heather for what she was doing.

He prepared himself for the upcoming meeting about munitions production. He'd never liked the Constantinos, and if asked his preference, he'd like to throw them into a cell to rot. But instead he had to coordinate with them. At least he could schedule these biweekly meetings in the evening, when Heather was out watching Anna. He was not going to make Heather deal with them again if he could help it. He could give her at least that much.

The office staff was also stressed, but they were concerned for the colonel. They saw him drift off in thought sometimes, staring at the crayon drawings that had quickly filled his office. They came to the decision that Something Had To Be Done. It was Lt. Posly who came up with the best idea.

"Has anyone noticed that empty house that borders the new section of camp?"

"That old gray house?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"We should give it to the colonel, so Anna can stay with him."

"Is that place even livable? It looks pretty run-down."

"We could fix it up using some of the construction materials Texas has been sending us..."

From there, it was only a matter of time. About two weeks later, the staff had a small surprise ceremony where they presented him with the keys. Beck went to pick up Anna right away.

"Guess what, honey? You can come live with Daddy now." He was answered with a squeal of delight and a hug. "And yes, you get your own room." Heather grinned at the happy sight.

"When can you move in?" Heather asked.

"The men say it's all ready."

"I'll get her things."

A few minutes later, Anna's bags were loaded in the humvee.

"Ready to see your room?" Beck asked his daughter.

"Yes!"

He took her hand and led her out to the vehicle. Anna hesitated only long enough to grab Heather's hand and drag her along, too.

"You outdid yourselves." He told his men as they pointed out the house. "We don't need that much space." He paused, somewhat overwhelmed. "Although it would've been nice growing up."

"Big family?" asked Heather

"Three sisters."

"Wow. No wonder you joined the army."

"Yeah, couldn't wait to escape the estrogen." There was a tinge of sadness in his voice. Heather caught his gaze. "Miami." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry." What else could she say? They reached the front step and got out of the Humvee.

The old house had been given a fresh coat of paint (army green, of course) and cleaned up. It was obvious what had been fixed and/or replaced; the new items were shiny and utilitarian (and suspiciously army) while everything else was worn but had once been chosen for looks. There was some furniture. Again, it was mostly army 'surplus', but they had taken special pains on Anna's room, getting her a real bed instead of a cot and a few toys that they had found or made. They had even made her shelves and a small table.

Anna released another squeal of delight as she jumped on the bed.

"I never get tired of hearing that." Beck grinned. Heather smiled as well.

"Look, honey, a place for your books." She said.

Anna jumped up and raced around the room, checking everything out. She looked under the bed and in the closet, presumably checking for monsters. Finding none, she went to look out the window. Outside the window were lots of grinning soldiers, most of whom had put some time into fixing the place up. As they noticed her, they waved and cheered. Beck went over to the window and opened it.

"Thank you. Thank you all." He told them, putting his arm around his daughter. "What do you say to the nice men?"

"Thank you." She said, suddenly shy.

A soldier came racing up to the impromptu assembly.

"Sir! A message from HQ!" Beck sighed, forced to leave his daughter with Heather yet again.

The request from headquarters took longer to deal with than he'd thought it would; he'd had to bring in Phil Constantino clear from New Bern to deal with it. But now he was on his way home. Home. Another favor he'd never be able to repay.

"Hey there!" He shouted, coming in the door of the house.

"Daddy! You're home!" She came running down the hall to greet him.

"Yes, sweetie, I am. Why don't you show me what you've done with your room."

"'K" She grabbed his hand and dragged him along. They found Heather putting sheets on the bed, which Anna jumped on.

"At least let me finish making it!" Heather said, administering punishment in the form of tickles. Anna shrieked with laughter.

Beck's smile suddenly disappeared at the happy scene. It reminded him too much of times past, with Maria.

"Daddy! Save me!" shrieked Anna, jerking him out of his momentary fog.

"Hmmm? Oh, all right." He waded in and scooped her up, whisking her away from the ticklemonster and into the living room.

"Do I smell dinner?"

"Yeah, we made sketti!"

"…Which is why Anna is wearing a different outfit than she was an hour ago."

He chuckled.

"Someone's going to wear a napkin for dinner tonight." he said as they walked into the kitchen to eat. "Go set the table, Anna."

"This looks delicious."

"We tried, sir." Heather said.

Beck paused.

"Use my name." She looked at him. "You're in my home, and you're no soldier. Call me Edward."

"Ok…Edward." She said, trying it out.

After a somewhat messy dinner, Heather put the dishes in the sink and started to wash them, with Anna on a stool at her side. The scene again provoked memories of Maria.

"Heather, stop that. You've done too much already."

"It's just a few dishes."

"I know. We can do them later. You can go home." It came out more curtly than he had intended. Heather was confused by the sudden change in Edward Beck and gave him a strange look.

"But she hasn't read me my bedtime story!" Anna protested.

"I think your Daddy can read you your story tonight." She said, still looking at him. I'll see you tomorrow, after school, ok honey?" She dried her hands, grabbed her purse, and left before he could recover.

_Well I blew that_, Edward thought to himself as Anna came at him with a book.

**********

"So how are we doing?" Beck asked, looking around the briefing room table.

"The munitions factory is working at full capacity, but they need more raw material." Lt. Goodman said.

"Then I guess we'll have to get them some. How are we on food production?"

"Well, the weather's been pretty good lately. However, there have been a few requests for pesticides, so that's not a good sign. But if we can supply that, it looks like we can squeak by on food production. Barely." Gray told him.

"So we're going to have to ration it."

"Very likely."

"People aren't going to like that. It looks like we're going to need your skills again, Heather."

She sighed, thinking of the bickering that would ensue between otherwise rational adults.

"I swear, sometimes it's like I'm still in the classroom, talking to ten year olds."

A laugh ran around the table.

"Thanks. I know you'd rather deal with the ten year olds. How are we on the military situation?" Beck asked, turning to Capt. Dunne.

"Morale is good. Our readiness states could be higher. The new distribution center is almost complete - a couple more weeks and we can start using it. Texas has rotated out some of their construction personnel." She paused, thinking. "That's about it."

"Ok, thanks everyone. Dismissed."

They got up to leave the office, but Edward caught Heather before she reached the door.

"Heather."

"Sir?"

"I owe you an apology for last night. An explanation. Actually, I owe you a whole lot more than that, but I needed to apologize for speaking to you like that. You didn't do anything to deserve it." She nodded, not quite sure what to say. "It's just that, seeing Anna… how she acts with you…reminds me of Maria. And I took it out on you. I'm sorry." Heather nodded acceptance of the apology. He continued with a request. "Please don't stop what you're doing with her. She needs a mother figure in her life, even if it reminds me of what I've lost. And one day I hope I can repay you for all you've done, somehow." Heather nodded yet again before leaving the office, uncomfortable with his gratitude.


	4. Chapter 4

Colonel Beck yawned yet again. He was, impossibly, working still longer hours. The ASA had put up a better fight than expected and was even pushing back in places. There were never enough hours in the day, and he'd been coming home so late that he couldn't tuck Anna in.

He reached for another report, entitled 'N. B. factory output - June'. Production was up slightly, but it would fall if they didn't get more raw materials by the end of the week. He made a note of it and kept reading, propping his head up with his hands.

"Sir. Wake up, sir."

"What? What is it?"

"Go home, sir. It's 2230."

"I should finish this report."

"You should get some sleep."

Beck noticed his reflection in the glass. There were lines on his face from where it had come to rest on his desk.

"Perhaps you're right."

He came home to a dark house. The only light on was the night light in Anna's room. Where was Heather? He found her purse on the table, so she must still in the house. He went looking.

He found her in Anna's room. She was on the bed, holding Anna. Both were asleep. It appeared that Anna had had a nightmare and Heather had held her until she fell asleep. Only she had also fallen asleep herself. Anna peacefully sleeping in Heather's arms again reminded him of Maria. He chose not to wake Heather; it would disturb Anna and Heather looked like she needed the rest.

It wasn't the first time Heather had fallen asleep waiting for him to come home; indeed, it was happening more and more as the pace of operations increased. Usually she ended up on the couch, with an open book on her chest. _This is ridiculous._ he thought. He knew how comfortable that couch was, or, more precisely, wasn't. In the morning he'd get a bed to put in the spare room for these unfortunately frequent occasions.

**********

Heather shuffled down the hall in the dark. She was on the way back to the room that had become hers when she heard noise from the kitchen. She went to go check it out.

She found Edward there, sitting at the kitchen table in the dark. She couldn't make out his face, but his posture was enough to depress anyone. He seemed to be miles away, lost in a fog of misery.

"Edward?"

His head snapped up, startled and somewhat embarrassed at being caught like this.

"You ok?" she asked.

Not quite willing to trust his voice, he gave an unconvincing nod.

"Liar." The accusation was without heat. "What is it?"

"I dreamed about her again." He admitted, surrendering. "We were on the beach, walking along, and then this wave came and washed her away. Just took her away from me. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry." She noticed the empty glass in his hand. "Please tell me that was water."

"No, ma'am."

"That isn't going to help, you know."

"It helps me forget."

"Is that really what you want?"

He contemplated the glass in his hand.

"Sometimes."

She reached across the table and touched his hand.

"It's not going to work. Not in the long run." Something in her tone made him look up.

"That sounds like a personal observation."

"It is. I lost my father when I was young. I watched my mother try to drown her sorrows. It only made them worse. I ended up losing them both."

He sat the glass down.

"I don't know what else to do. Maybe that's part of the reason I work so late. To keep the memories away."

"You can talk about it."

"What is there to say? She's gone, and I'll never get her back."

"Tell me about her. Please."

.

"- so there she is, tearing a strip off the major – my CO – and I'm just sort of frozen there, watching in a mix of horror and fascination. She wasn't usually a firebreather, but she could leave you covered in ashes if you pissed her off. And she was in full swing. I knew I should go in there and break it up, but honestly I was afraid she'd turn on me." He smiled at the image in his mind. "She'd managed to reduce the major into frothing incoherence when she finally turned to me and said 'Let's go home, dear.' I was speechless, mouth hanging open, and I just sort of followed her to the car. The guys never let me live that down. And the major made my life hell for the next month."

Heather laughed.

"She sounds like a hoot. I wish I had met her."

"You two would have gotten along great. And maybe you two could tear strips off each other instead of senior officers."

"Yeah, but then who would keep said officers in line?"

"A point." He admitted, taking a sip from his glass, water this time. He gazed out the window and noticed the movement outside. Watch change. Had they been talking that long? He looked at the clock for confirmation. "I really should get some sleep. You should too." Heather glanced at the clock. If she fell asleep right away she could get a couple of hours in before the alarm went off.

"See you in the morning." She said.

"Heather –"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime."


	5. Chapter 5

Edward woke up thanks to another bad dream. They weren't every night anymore, but they were still frequent. He shook his head to clear it and got up to get a glass of water. He rather hoped Heather was up. Talking to her always made him feel better.

As he opened his door, he heard whimpering and twisting sheets from down the hall. Apparently he wasn't the only one having a bad dream tonight. He went to go comfort his daughter, but found her sleeping peacefully. That's when he heard Heather's muffled voice coming from the next room and looked through her partially opened door.

"No… off me… stop…get off me…"

He paled when he realized what her nightmare must be. He went to her, desperate to quell the fear he saw on her face.

"Heather." He said, leaning over and gently shaking her shoulder. She woke suddenly, eyes wide with terror…and decked the man she found standing over her bed. He landed on the floor, hands covering his face. He groaned. It took a moment for Heather to realize where she was…and who she'd just hit.

"Ed! Are you ok?"

"I've been better. You've got a good arm."

"Let me get you some ice for that." She hurried to the kitchen. He stumbled after her, unable to see clearly. Heather got out a towel and put ice in it, placing it on his eye.

"Aaahh, much better."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"But –"

"Look, I know you didn't intend it for me. It was an accident, okay?"

Edward stood there enjoying the coolness of the ice for a minute until he remembered what he'd heard her say.

"Were you ever going to tell anyone?"

She tried to brazen it out.

"Tell anyone what?"

"Heather, you talk in your sleep."

Her eyes dropped.

"Who was he?" he asked gently.

"It doesn't matter." She told him quietly, looking at her toes.

"Yes, it does." There was an edge to his voice now.

"There's nothing you can do about it. It happened before you got here."

"New Bern." She nodded. Then something clicked in his mind. "Clark Constantino." Another miserable nod. She swallowed hard, turning away. He put the ice down and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. He turned her back around as he tried to think of some words of comfort. But what could he say? He ended up simply holding her as she wept, her tears staining his shirt.

.

Some time later, when the sobs had ceased, Anna wandered into the kitchen to find her father and a puffy-eyed Miss Lisinski sitting at the kitchen table.

"Miss Lisinski? Why're you crying?"

"I had a bad dream, honey."

"Were you being chased? I hate that dream."

"Something like that. Did you want something to drink?"

"I wanted some water. But you should have some milk and cookies."

"Milk and cookies?" asked Edward.

"Miss Lisinski gives me milk and cookies when I have a bad dream."

"She does, does she?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Heather.

"She says that you can't have bad dreams when you have a happy stomach."

"Does it work?"

"Every time." she assured her father.

"Well, in that case…" he went to the fridge. "And I suppose you want some too?"

"Yes, please." She walked over to Heather and gave her a hug. "Hugs are good for bad dreams too."

"They certainly are. Thank you."

"We seem to be out of cookies. How about some banana bread?" asked Edward.

"That's fine" said Heather. Anna, however, wrinkled her nose.

"Then you'll just have to settle for a glass of milk." her father told her.

"Awww."

"Here you go. Two milks and one slice of banana bread."

"Go ahead and grab some for yourself. It's getting light out." Heather gestured to the window.

"I hadn't realized the time. Anna, what do you want for breakfast? We've got cereal and..." He went through the cabinets for more options. "Well, it looks like cereal. Unless you want to take your chances at the mess tent."

"Cereal." she said firmly. Heather laughed.

**********

"Heather!"

Heather looked up from her lunch. The office staff, in a rare display of rebellion, had declared that they were going to take a real lunch break today, no matter how much work was waiting for them. Beck, possessing enough sense to recognize tactical realities, had conceded, joining them at Bailey's.

Emily came over and Heather stood up to greet her friend.

"It's been a long time." Emily said as she hugged Heather.

"Well, it's been busy at the office." She chucked a thumb behind her at the sea of army green. "This is the first real lunch we've had in a couple of weeks."

The guys waved at Emily. Emily smiled back, then did a double-take when she saw Beck's eye.

"What happened to you?"

"Got into a fight with a nightmare."

"Must have been some nightmare."

"It was." He replied simply, looking down at his plate.

"I see."

Heather gestured her friend to have a seat at the next table over, moving her own plate.

"Jake's been real busy too." Emily complained. "I think you probably see more of him at work than I do at home."

"Not really, he always seems to be passing through on his way to put out the latest fire."

"Sounds like him."

"Is it this crazy at school, too?"

"Not so much. The kids are resilient; they seem to behave much the same as before. Though we do find that the youngest students stay longer because their parents have so much to do."

"Sorry about that." Heather said. She'd been guilty of that a few times, picking Anna up as late as six.

"It's okay, we understand. Especially with Anna. It must be hard when your dad works late every night of the week. Fortunately, she's got you." Heather looked up. "Seriously, she loves you. She draws you into her pictures. Some of the other kids even think you're her mom." Heather's look changed into disbelief. "Just yesterday Jane asked Anna to 'see if her parents would let her spend the night.'"

"Really?" Heather asked, flattered.

"Yeah."

The conversation paused as Mary took Emily's order.

"Jane is Chuck's sister, right?" asked Heather.

"Yes, she is. Why?"

"Just confirming that I know her parents, in case Anna does ask. I don't think Ed would mind." Emily raised an eyebrow at the familiar form of address. "What?" Heather asked. Emily just shook her head and moved on.

"So what else is going on in your life? What's going on at work? Assuming it's not classified, that is."

"Well – "

Over at the next table, Edward had been quiet since he heard Anna's name. It was good to know Anna really was doing well. But he'd caught Emily's eyebrow without even looking. He hadn't really thought about how close he and Heather had become. He'd been so busy. She had become a trusted friend, though. He was glad he had her.


	6. Chapter 6

On Saturday, they took Anna to fly a kite. Heather had found one in her closet and brought it over. They took it to the schoolyard and let it fly. People who passed saw what they were doing. A few kids ran home and dug up their kites. Soon, there was a small gathering of people, mostly parents, enjoying watching the kids have fun.

"I remember my first time flying a kite." Heather said as they looked on from a nearby shady spot. Anna had crossed her kite with Jane's, and they were having quite a time untangling their kite strings. "It was a box kite, and my dad couldn't quite figure out how to assemble it." Edward laughed.

"I bet you figured it out in 30 seconds."

"Yeah. But I had wait for him to give up first; he didn't want to admit he couldn't put it together. It took him about half an hour of fiddling until he put it down."

"So, you got it to fly, I presume?"

"Yeah. Right into a tree."

"Wow. What a lousy introduction to kite-flying."

"Well, I got to climb a really tall tree, so it wasn't all bad." She grinned at him.

"Yeah, that is half the fun of kite flying, isn't it?" He smiled nostalgically.

"So what about you, Ed? What did your first kite look like?"

"Just a plain old diamond kite. Red."

"Daddy!" Anna called over. She had untangled her kite now and wanted to fly it again. He got up to help her launch it.

"Hey, Miss Lisinski, will you help me fly mine?" Jane asked.

"Sure." She dusted off her pants and headed over.

Edward got Anna's kite up on the first try. Heather, however, was on her second pass when she went down.

"Miss Lisinski!"

"Heather! Are you ok?" Edward rushed over.

"I turned my ankle." She said, grimacing. She looked behind her. There was a small hole dug into the ground. She made a note to tell Emily that there needed to be a little chat with students about digging holes come Monday morning. She wiggled her foot. "It doesn't look too bad."

"You should get it looked at, make sure it's not sprained."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am." He turned to Anna, who still had hold of her kite. "Reel it in, honey. We have to go to the clinic." Anna complied.

He helped Heather stand. She put some weight on it, wincing.

"Lean on me, ok?" He told her, putting her arm around his shoulder and his around her waist. They moved towards her truck, but it was slow going and it was clear across the field. Finally he just swung her up into his arms and carried her.

"Hey!" She cried in surprise.

"This is much easier."

"Well, yeah, but you could at least give me some warning."

"Sorry." He continued onward, watching the ground for any more holes.

Heather looked at his face. He really was concerned. More concerned than she was. She didn't really feel that worried. Perhaps because he was carrying her; she didn't know why, but she found it comforting. He was awfully strong; he wasn't even breathing hard. Her breathing, however, suddenly seemed to quicken. What was wrong with her? He paused and turned to make sure Anna was following him. Heather's pulse started to race. She stiffened in shock as she recognized the signs. The sudden, close physical contact had forced her to see him as a man, and she found herself attracted to him.

_No. No way. You can't. He's not the least bit interested. _

"Heather, you ok?"

"Yes." She lied. "Let's just get to the truck."

By the time they arrived at the clinic, she'd managed to convince herself that it was just a random reaction to the adrenaline from her injury.

Kenchy came in to look at her ankle.

"Not that bad. You should be able to walk on it in a few hours, when the swelling goes down and you can put a brace on it." He told her, manipulating her toes. "You should probably take it easy for a couple of days, though."

"Alright. Anything else?"

"You'll probably be fine with ibuprofen for the pain, but let me know if that isn't cutting it. I'd go ahead and give you something stronger, but we're running low. You can take 3 at a time, but make sure to take it with food if you do." He stuck his head out the door. "Gail, would you get me an ankle brace? Left foot." He addressed Heather again. "You should go home now, get some rest."

Heather slid off the examination table into the wheelchair and they carted her out to the truck. She had nearly fallen asleep by the time they got home.

"Look at what I made!" exclaimed Anna, coming out of the schoolyard after school. Heather did a slight double take. It was a little girl flying a kite and a green man carrying a brown-haired woman. "It's of the day we flew the kite."

"I can see that." She had put that moment out of her mind. She had no business thinking of him like that. "It's beautiful." She added.

"Let's go give it to Daddy!"

"He's busy, honey."

"But I just want to give it to him, so he can hang it in his office." The look on her face made Heather give in.

"All right. But we can't stay and visit."

"It's lovely." the colonel told his daughter. "Is this you flying the kite?"

"Yes, and that's you, carrying Miss Lisinski."

"Well, it's beautiful. I'm going to put it right here, where everyone can see it."

_Yep, because that's not going to make me feel self-conscious at all. Nope, not a bit._ Heather thought ruefully.

"C'mon, Anna, Daddy's a busy man." She pulled Anna out of the office, leaving him to his work…and came face to face with both Constantino brothers.

"Hi there." said Clark. "It's been too long since I saw you last." It could have been a pleasant greeting, but it carried an unmistakable leer. Heather gripped Anna's hand tightly, pulling the little girl behind her. "And who have we here?" Clark continued "What's your name, cutie?" Anna, sensing tension, said nothing, hiding her face.

Something about his daughter's bright dress caught Beck's eye. She had stopped outside his door, and had attached herself firmly to Heather's leg. He looked up further and saw Heather facing the Constantino brothers. They weren't supposed to be here for another half an hour. Damn it, why'd they have to pick today of all days to come early? He went out immediately.

"You're early." He said coolly, stepping between them as he gestured the brothers into the office. Clark gave Heather one last leer on his way in. Once the door closed, Beck's tone went from cool to frozen.

"Stay away from them."

"I was just saying h–"

"Bullshit."

"I just –"

"Shut up." He leaned into Clark and his voice was calm but deadly. "I know what you did to her. And if you ever speak to her or my little girl again, I will kill you." Beck stared him down, his eyes as cold as the vacuum of space. Once the point had been made, Beck became more businesslike, though still cold.

"So what prompted you to come half an hour early?"

"We've hit a snag in production." Phil said, taking the lead as usual. "One of our machines broke, and we don't have the replacement part."

"You want me to order one from Texas. Fine. Give Sergeant Biggs the specifications. Anything else?"

"We could use some help in the factory. We've got everyone in New Bern working on this project, and we're still falling short."

"And everyone in Jericho is working just as hard."

"Well, it's more a matter of skills. Our workforce is motivated, but they just don't have the types of skills we need. We're really short on skilled machine workers. Maybe there are those in Jericho who are better at machinery than farming. I know there are people in New Bern who'd be better at farming than what they're doing now. We've got several people who want to help out, but actually cause more problems than they solve. One such person caused the machine to break today."

"So you want a sort of exchange program?"

"I guess you could call it that."

"You can ask for volunteers. There's no reason to prevent people from working at what they're best at. But I will not force anyone to transfer. Neither will you." He waited to see if there was any reaction to the implication of the last sentence. They chafed, but said nothing.

"Is that it?"

"For now."

"Then it's time for you to go. I have things to do."


	7. Chapter 7

Heather actually had the night 'off', and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She'd treated herself to dinner at Bailey's, and had come back to her house afterwards. It was somehow less 'homey' than she remembered, though it hadn't actually changed. It just felt so empty. She missed having others around. She felt truly lonely for the first time in years. She'd spent many nights alone in her life; in truth she'd gotten so used to it that she had accepted it as a way of being.

Now, though, she'd been exposed to another type of life and found she liked it. It was nice to have someone to care for, somebody to talk to. It was rewarding. Emily's comments came back to her. _They think you're her mom_. She realized that that was sort of how she felt, too. It was like they'd adopted each other.

And it wasn't just Anna she had grown close to. True, they didn't spend that much time together outside the office, but she and Ed had gotten to know each other well. Those late night conversations offered a glimpse at the man she knew others never saw. She knew they both had said a lot to each other after their nightmares that they hadn't revealed to anyone else. It had gotten so that she no longer feared dreams, because he would be there to talk to when she woke up. He was a good friend.

Her eyes drifted over to the fridge, where one of Anna's drawings suddenly stood out. It was Anna holding onto her and Ed's hands. It was like so many other drawings she'd seen, but then she realized that Anna considered them a family. She had no doubt that Anna still loved and missed her Mommy, but she accepted Heather as family. Was this what family life was supposed to be like? People sharing their homes, their lives, their joys and their sorrows? If only – she broke off that train of thought before it could leave the station. Ed still loved Maria. She was happy just being his friend.

**********

"Could you _please_ get the colonel to take a day off?" Capt. Dunne asked.

Heather looked over her shoulder at Edward. He definitely looked like he needed one. But she knew how he felt about his duty, and that he had no right 'shirking' it at a time like this.

"I don't know." She replied.

"Please try. He's going to make himself sick if he keeps this up much longer."

"I know." She sighed. "I suppose you've already suggested it to him?"

"Yes, but he just dismisses us. _You_ might have better luck." She looked askance at the captain. "You have more influence over him than we do." She shrugged. "He doesn't seem to get all snappish with you either."

"Snappish, huh? That bad?"

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to him."

.

"Where do you want to go for lunch, Ed?" Heather asked cheerfully.

"I'll probably just eat in." he said absently, eyes still on the latest report.

"Ed." It was a statement of disapproval. He looked up. "You need a decent meal. You need to get out of this office."

"I can't. There's too much to do."

"I realize you think it's your job to personally keep the world rotating on its axis, but there's only so much you can do. If you try to do more than that, you'll only make yourself sick, and then how much help would you be?"

"I'm fine." He insisted.

"You looked in a mirror lately? When was the last time you slept more than five hours?"

"I –"

On the other side of the glass, the staff kept a discreet eye on the two of them, hoping she could get him to see reason.

"Geez, they argue like a married couple."

"That's a good thing." Lt. Sorey got some strange looks, and explained. "That means she'll win."

"Good point."

A few more minutes and another stealthy glance showed that Heather had, in fact, won. She'd even gotten him to smile.

"Do you think they'll ever - ?"

"I hope so. He needs someone like her."


	8. Chapter 8

Heather found herself in a medieval castle, wearing a gown. She was reading a book on the window seat; it was a good book, the breeze was cool and the day bright. She was interrupted, however, when a shadow crossed over her. She looked up to see a man in a dark cape coming at her. He reminded her strongly of Clark Constantino and she scrambled to get away, but he was too fast. He grabbed her, ignoring her screams, and carried her away.

She was scared and most uncomfortable, having been bound and flung across the back of 'Clark's' horse. But then she saw a knight in shining armor – complete with the white horse – come racing up behind them. It didn't take long to close the gap, and her rescuer knocked 'Clark' off his horse and quickly dispatched him. He then came to Heather, untied her, and brought her to her feet. She thanked him, knowing that she and her hero would live 'happily ever after', and asked him for a kiss. He removed his helmet to oblige her.

It was Edward's face.

She jolted awake. What the hell was that? That was the freakiest dream she'd had in a long time. And Ed as her prince charming – no, just no. He was not available. She knew that. Her brain was messing with her. She wasn't taking good enough care of herself, that's all. She sighed.

She rose to go get a glass of water. However, she ran into Edward in the hall.

"Heather? Bad dream?"

"Not exactly." She knew she couldn't get away with telling him 'no'. The dream had upset her, and she knew she looked it.

"'Not exactly'?"

"Reading Anna fairy tales has addled my brain somewhat, I'm afraid."

"Ok, this I gotta hear." He moved them down the hall to the kitchen for the usual post-dream debriefing. Heather debated exactly what to tell him as she sat down. She wasn't going to tell him the ending; that much was certain. Edward poured them some water.

"Well, I was a princess in a castle, just reading my book in the window. Then this man in a dark cape came up and grabbed me. He was taking me away on his horse when we were overtaken by a knight in shining armor, who rescued me."

"That doesn't sound so bad. Why do you look so rattled?"

"The villain reminded me of _him_."

"Oh."

"I mean, I ended up saved and all that, so I can't really classify it as a nightmare…all in all, it's an improvement. It was just so weird. I mean, me, as a medieval princess. I had the gown and pointed hat and everything."

"That is slightly out of character. I don't think I've seen you in a dress."

She didn't have a reply for that. Instead she drank her water. When she finished, she got up and put her glass in the sink.

"Good night, Edward."

"Good night."

********

She had that same dream several times over the next couple of weeks. (with slight variations – at least once the horse was not white, but army green) The emphasis shifted from the kidnapping to the rescue. And it rattled her every time. Fortunately, she managed to avoid talking to Edward about it again.

But she knew she was being affected by it. She had come to realize that she really was attracted to him. But she knew he didn't think the same way about her. That he considered her a friend; a good friend, mind, but nothing more. That he was still devoted to Maria, even though she was gone.

She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she wouldn't do that to him. She didn't want to complicate his life any further. She knew he wasn't ready for a relationship with anyone. She didn't know if he ever would be.

She didn't know what she was going to do.

She tried to continue as if nothing had changed. But it was becoming harder to be relaxed in his presence; she had to work at acting normal, which she knew only produced a different (but hopefully less noticeable) kind of behavior.

She was so concerned about not letting Edward know her feelings that she didn't pick up that others around her _did _notice. That, in fact, they had long since paired them off. Edward, for his part, was oblivious. His mind was on other things, like the new airstrip they were building outside of town.

Heather was slowly going insane.


	9. Chapter 9

The mechanical rumble woke him. It sounded familiar, but it took a minute to place it. _Heather's truck,_ he realized. _Charlotte is such a noisy beast._ He smiled again at the name. He wasn't sure why he found it so amusing – perhaps because the act of christening the vehicle was so very Heather. Of course, it had more than enough 'personality' to merit a name.

But then he also realized he was still in bed and the sun's rays were only just starting to come over the horizon. Why would she be going out at this hour? He opened his eyes to investigate…and found a pair of eyes, so like his late wife's, staring at him, apparently waiting patiently for him to wake up.

"Hey, sweetie," he said sleepily, sitting up. "Where's Heather going?"

"She wouldn't tell me. She was crying, Daddy. Why is she sad?"

"I don't know," he said. "Did she say anything else?"

"Oh, right, she said to give you this when you woke up." She held out a folded piece of paper. He took it and started to read the neat block lettering Heather used for short notes, a holdover from her drafting classes.

Edward,

I just can't take this anymore. I hate dancing around what I feel. I know you're dealing with the loss of your wife. I know I have no right to ask you to be more than a friend. But I can't stand being this close to you, holding my feelings in because I know you don't think of me the same way.

I know I'm a coward, but I can't stay here any longer. If I do I'll explode. I'll see if I can get Gail to help you with Anna.

-Heather

He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He'd come to rely on her, and not just because she'd been such a help with Anna. When his daughter had arrived, Heather had become a second mother to her, practically moving into their house. But she'd become more than a live-in nanny; she'd become a good friend and a comforting face to come home to. He realized that he'd taken her presence for granted. And now she was leaving. Had left, actually, as he heard the noisy old engine fade off into the distance. And then it hit him.

He jumped up and ran out of the room, suddenly focused on one goal. He tore open the door and raced down the dirt road that ran through camp. He heard Anna's questions behind him, but he kept going, hoping to hear the rattle of that ancient truck.

"Daddy! Where are you going!?" Anna called from the door. "You forgot your shoes!"

.

At the gate, the sentry returned to his position as a distinctive old truck pulled away.

"Damn."

"What?" asked his fellow sentry.

"She finally gave up on him."

"That's too bad. I was hoping she could help him. God knows nobody else can reach him."

They stood there quietly for a few seconds. Then –

"Hey, is that the Colonel?"

"I think you're right." He paused, watching the colonel nearly run over two soldiers coming out of the mess tent. "I've never seen him run that fast before."

"I have. He was under fire at the time."

.

Heather hadn't coaxed Charlotte up to speed yet when she noticed a blurry figure in her rearview mirror. She wiped her eyes so she could get a clearer look, but then he was nearly alongside her, running faster than she'd seen anyone run before.

"Heather!"

She took her foot off the gas, blinking to clear her vision. It wasn't helping. The truck shuddered to a stop. He skidded to a stop next to her window and tapped on the glass. Mechanically, she rolled it down.

"Come back. Please." His breathless voice was quiet but sincere. She stared at him in disbelief. Surely he had read the note. But the pleading look on his face was intense. She continued to stare, unable to speak.

"Please." he said again "I need you."

Finally, she forced out a single word.

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

Tears that had trickled now flowed freely. She let go of the steering wheel, yet her eyes never left him. He opened the door and reached out to her. She fell into his arms.

"I love you." he said again, stroking her hair.

"I love you." She replied, voice soft with wonder.

They stood that way for a bit, just holding each other until the tears ran out. Finally, she leaned back and looked him in the eyes. He smiled at her, a smile that for the first time held no hint of anything but happiness. She returned it with a watery smile of her own. He brought her close again, and this time he kissed her. The world around them fell away; nothing mattered but each other. Time slowed to a crawl as they shared this moment of happiness, this transcendent joy of finding someone who was already a part of you. But no moment lasts forever; the real world slowly came back into focus. They heard a smattering of applause and whistles, becoming aware for the first time of a small crowd back at the gate. Heather's face turned beet red, and Edward's face darkened as well. The applause changed into good-natured laughter. Ed smiled sheepishly at Heather.

"I guess we do look kind of silly." She said.

"We don't. _I_ do."

"What? Oh." She saw for the first time what he was wearing; his usual sleeping attire, a ratty-looking old army shirt and shorts. And no shoes. She giggled. "Well, it's not exactly shining armor." He raised an eyebrow. "That prince charming I kept dreaming about? It was you." An amused look crossed his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He kissed her again, on the cheek this time. "Well, come on back to the castle, princess."

"Alright, get in the truck. There's no need to run me down again."

Heather blushed again as they drove back through the gate; the soldiers called out cheerful comments as they passed.

"Nice sprint, Colonel!"

"Talk about chasing women!"

"Setting the bar kind of high there, Colonel!"

.

When they got to the house, Anna was sitting on the steps in her pajamas, waiting.

"Where did you go, Daddy?"

"He came to get me. Now go get ready for school." Heather said.

"I should go get around myself." Edward said. He grabbed Heather's bags and carried them back into the house.


	10. Chapter 10

Amazingly, it looked like he was going to clear his in tray in time for a late dinner tonight. (It didn't occur to him that this effect had been engineered by his meddlesome staff) It was even more amazing considering how distracted he'd been all morning. He had spaced out during the morning briefing twice, staring at Heather. Even now, alone in his office, he was trying to keep his mind on his work, but his thoughts - and eyes - kept drifting to Heather. He knew Heather was having similar difficulties, because every so often one of them would look up to steal a glance at the other, only to find they were already being stared at. Sensing the utter silliness of it all, she'd left earlier than usual to pick up Anna. He'd managed to pick up a little speed, but he knew he was still not as efficient as he could have been. Still, it had been a productive day. He put the last report in the out tray, and locked up. He didn't even notice he was humming to himself on the way out.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out in jest, hanging his uniform jacket by the door.

"Hey, Ed." She came out of the kitchen with a smile.

"Wow."

She was wearing a dress. Nothing fancy, just a simple sundress. Of course, she could make a paper bag look good. He strode over and kissed her, and kept her in his arms after it was over, just breathing her in.

"God, you even smell beautiful."

"I smell like dinner."

He chuckled at her typical self-deprecation. Heather liked the sound of his laughter rumbling around in his chest. Then she heard another rumble, but this one was from his stomach. She laughed.

"See?" she said.

"Well, you know what they say about the way to a man's heart."

"Then come on, dinner's ready."

They went into the kitchen arm in arm. Edward noticed that there were only two place settings.

"Where's Anna?"

"She's spending the night at a friend's house."

"I see."

Dinner was chicken and potatoes. Somewhere, Heather had acquired a bottle of wine.

"I couldn't find any wine glasses." She apologized.

"Juice glasses work just fine. Though I'm wondering where you got the wine in the first place."

"Talked Mary into giving it up."

"You have some pretty serious negotiating skills. I didn't think she had any left."

He took a bite of the chicken.

"This is delicious."

"Good, because I slaved over it for minutes."

"You did, huh? Well it was worth it."

They spent the next few minutes eating. Edward really had been quite hungry when he came home; it didn't take him long to finish the meal. Then he raised his juice glass in a toast.

"To the beautiful lady who made this lovely meal."

Heather's cheeks turned red, and she turned away, carrying the plates to the sink. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"Y'know, you blush way too easily for your own good. I'm going to have fun with that." He kissed her neck as she started to fill the sink. "Let the dishes soak."

She shut off the faucet and turned in his embrace. Her lips met his. He took his time kissing her, wanting to savor every second. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair as she felt his hands run down her back, then slide down her hips. That was when she flinched, stiffening in his arms. He pulled back.

"Heather?"

"I – I can't. I thought I could, with you. I want to, really I do, and it's not that I don't trust you, I just -" She buried her face in his shirt, hot tears soaking through it.

"It's ok. Shhh-hhh. It's ok." He assured her. "If you're not ready, you're not ready. There's no rush." He stroked her hair. "It's ok. Everything's going to work out." The soothing litany continued to pour out of him as she leaned into his comforting embrace.

He didn't think he'd ever hated anyone as much as he hated Clark Constantino at that moment.


	11. Chapter 11

Colonel Beck walked toward his house with General Louden, Major Franks and Gray Anderson. They'd been discussing the military situation for hours, and he'd called for a break and invited them to dinner when it became clear that they'd need to keep going late into the night. Fortunately, Heather was cooking spaghetti and could easily add three plates.

He heard a muffled giggle from above, and spotted Anna in the oak tree, 'hiding'. He turned to his companions, but spoke so that Anna could hear him.

"Hmmm, I wonder where Anna is. She _usually_ comes to greet me when I come home. She must be in time out or something." He sighed dramatically about his 'misbehaving' daughter.

Anna swung down from the low branch, hanging by her knees.

"I am not in Time Out!"

Edward grinned at the sight of his daughter hanging upside down, long brown hair dangling. It had leaves in it. The rest of her wasn't exactly clean either. He heard chuckles from either side of him.

"_There_ you are!" he said, coming up to her. Her head was at the same height as his, and he kissed her forehead. "I didn't see you, all covered in leaves." He picked one out of her hair and held it in front of her to emphasize his point.

"It's camouflage."

"Indeed. Now get down here and wash up for dinner. When you're done, you can set the table for six."

"Do I hafta? I just got everything set up." She crossed her arms. He looked up at her things in the tree. Heather had started to make a treehouse with Anna; at this point it was just a platform.

"You can come back after dinner. Now come on." He reached up and caught her as she released her grip on the limb. He carried her into the house, flung over his shoulder like a squealing sack of potatoes.

"Oh my, look what the cat dragged in." Heather said, sticking her head out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, someone's been creating her own ghillie suit."

"Well she needs to take it off. Dinner will be ready as soon as the noodles boil."

He swung Anna down and she scampered off to the bathroom. He turned to his guests. The general and the major seemed surprised to find the local liaison here, cooking dinner at the colonel's house. Heather and Edward had agreed to keep work and personal lives separate, so the visiting officers hadn't seen them 'together'. Beck gestured to the living area.

"Make yourself at home. What would you like to drink?"

"Water's fine." General Louden said. The others nodded agreement.

He went into the kitchen and kissed Heather on the cheek.

"Smells good."

"Right out of the can." She smiled at him. "So how late are you going to be up tonight?"

"Don't know."

"Is this going to be a working dinner?" she asked.

Edward understood what she was really asking. As part of keeping work and personal lives separate, he'd briefed her on when and how to address him. At work, they continued much as they had; it was either 'sir', or 'Edward', depending on who else was present. Today had been unusually full of sirs, due to the presence of the visiting senior officers. Outside of work, though, she could call him anything she wanted. ("_Anything_, Pookums?" "Well, almost anything.") However, this was the first time he'd brought work home.

"Never 'sir' me at home. I don't care who our guests are."

She nodded, stirring the noodles as he poured drinks. He carried the drinks out to the table. Anna came through the living area on her way to get the dishes. Edward snagged her as she passed, picking out leaves she'd missed from the back of her head.

"Daddy!" She squirmed in his grasp.

"You missed a few." He put the leaves in the trash and ran his fingers through her hair to smooth it out. "Now let's see your hands." She displayed them. "Good girl." He released her and she continued to the kitchen. Beck just smiled, watching Heather hand Anna the silverware. He went back in to put the sauce on the table, not noticing the amused looks from his guests.

Dinner was pleasant; they discussed things of little consequence and watched Anna nearly make it through dinner without getting sauce on her bib.

After dinner, Anna ran back out to play. Being comfortable and full, the adults were content to continue their discussion out on the porch instead of going back to the office. Heather and Edward sat on the porch swing, where they could keep an eye on Anna in the tree. They discussed the general local situation. Heather was able to inform the visiting officers about recent happenings as well as several local personalities. The conversation turned to resources.

"So the factory is producing what, exactly?" the major asked.

"Mortar shells, mostly. A few other things." Beck said.

"Yeah, they're real good at making mortars." Gray added, his tone dark.

Edward sensed Heather's uneasiness. Finding those items had led to her imprisonment. He grasped her hand. She gave herself a quick mental shake.

"How's the situation in New Bern?" The general asked.

"Not quite as good as it is here. Their factory is their main asset. Otherwise, the situation is generally a step behind Jericho. We try to balance that out, sharing Jericho's resources, but they have more people and fewer resources."

"You know, I'd like to speak to the New Bern leadership as well. Can you reach them tonight? We have to leave in the morning."

"I can have them meet us in camp."

The general looked at him, puzzled both at his tone and at why they would move from their current location.

"The Constantinos are not welcome in our home." Beck said.

The major joined the general's strange look. Edward really didn't want to explain. Heather had only recently begun discussing her experiences with him. He knew he was the only one who knew exactly what they'd done to her, that she hadn't been able to tell anyone else. He was not going to tell two people she didn't know without even asking her. Fortunately, Gray cut in with a truthful but suitably vague explanation.

"They are not people you want around your family." Gray said. "They're violent and cruel. In the course of our…conflict… they imprisoned, tortured and killed our citizens. Heather is lucky to be alive."

Their gaze turned to Heather, looking at her with new eyes. She returned their gaze levelly, but Edward felt her tense under their scrutiny, her hand tightening on his. He cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him.

"I can go make the call now."

"That's fine." The general was decidedly less eager to meet the New Bern leadership now.

Beck went inside to make the call; Heather went with him, keeping hold of his hand, avoiding the inevitable awkward conversation if she stayed outside. Inside the door, he put his arms around her. She leaned into his embrace for several seconds, then took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Eddy. I needed that."

"No problem."

The men on the porch made idle chitchat in the gathering dusk. When the door opened, Heather came out, followed by Beck. Beck stopped on the porch, but Heather continued out to the tree. She did not look at the men on the porch as she passed, not wanting to hear any condolences or apologies. Ed was all she needed.

"Sir, is she ok?" asked the major quietly.

"She's fine. Just let it go." He glanced over as Heather told Anna it was time to come in. "He says they can meet us in about twenty minutes." Beck said. "Shall we?" he gestured towards the camp.

When they arrived at their destination, the general wrinkled his nose. This tent was right next to the mess tent trash pile, and the stench was pretty terrible.

"Is this really the best place to meet them?"

"Well, I don't trust them enough to let them in the map room." At the general's skeptical look, he continued, admitting to a lesser motive. "It keeps our talks short. They can't seem to leave fast enough when I offer them a meal." He grinned maliciously. Gray snorted in amusement, then gagged on the smell.

A dirty truck drove up with two men. Even without the briefing, the general was pretty sure he'd dislike them on sight. They were unshaven and dirty, but that really wasn't the reason. Their manner was all the things he disdained – he had no doubt that they were as cruel as he'd been told. They somehow managed to swagger and skulk at the same time.

"General Louden, Major Franks, allow me to introduce Phil and Clark Constantino." Beck's words were courteous, but everyone knew the courtesy was a lie. Phil nodded acknowledgement; Clark looked bored. The officers were somewhat offended, but were relieved not to have to shake hands with them. Seeing as there was no point in wasting pleasantries on them, and instantly coming to the conclusion that Beck was right about short meetings with these two, the general got right to the point.

"We're losing ground. The ASA is pushing us back in this direction. Since we've been building up this area, it may become a target. In particular, the factory. You may want to prepare for an air raid."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Is there anything in particular New Bern needs?"

Phil shrugged.

"More of everything. Food."

"I'll keep that in mind."

There was a pause as conversation lagged.

"Well if that's all gentlemen, let's head over to the mess tent, I could use a cup of coffee." Beck's words were again courteous. A courteous lie.

"We're good." Phil said. "Till next time."

Gray hid a smile as the Constantinos drove off.

"So does anyone actually want a cup of coffee or should we just head over to the map room?" Beck asked.

"I could use one. Get this taste out of my mouth." The general said.

"The garbage or the Constantinos?" asked the major.

"There's a difference?"


	12. Chapter 12

Heather sat in Edward's arms on the couch. There was a fire in the fireplace, and a throw blanket covered their legs for good measure. These quiet times after Anna went to bed had become very precious. They would sit and talk, or sometimes just sit, enjoying each other's presence. Heather loved the sound of his voice at night, so different from how he spoke at the office. She liked the old t-shirts that he wore at home, soft and smooth under her cheek. Most of all, though, she loved how he made her feel; secure in his love, she could truly relax.

A soft voice spoke into her ear.

"You still awake?"

"Yeah." She answered drowsily. "Although I think I could stay here forever."

"I know what you mean." He murmured, running his fingers along her forearm.

"Eddy, that tickles." She grasped his hand. It was so much bigger than hers. She examined it. Years of army life had toughened his hands. She felt the strength in them; it was hard to believe that they could be so gentle. There were several scars on his hand and forearm. She traced a thin line running across his thumb and palm. "How'd you get that?"

"An IED went off behind me. I got several pieces of shrapnel. My armor stopped most of it, though."

"I'm glad. What about this one?" She indicated a small one on his middle finger.

"Knife fight in Kandahar."

She pointed at yet another, this one on his arm.

"And this one, it looks like it really hurt."

"It did. Anna's half-assembled swingset fell on me."

She snorted, somewhat amused that the worst looking scar was caused by an object that was so innocent and cheerful.

"Yeah, I know." He said, acknowledging her sense of the ironic.

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it before releasing it. She shifted, curling up and resting her head on his chest. He pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and kissed her forehead before resting his cheek against her hair.

Edward was awakened by a cool breeze from the fireplace, the fire having burned out. He looked down at Heather, asleep in his arms. He didn't want to disturb her, but he already felt a crick in his neck. He couldn't spend all night on the couch. He moved slowly, trying not to wake her. He picked her up and carried her to her room. He knew she could sleep on the couch, but she'd be more comfortable in her bed. She stirred as he laid her down.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Dark-thirty. Go back to sleep."

"Eddy." She scooted over to make space in a clear invitation. He accepted, sliding in behind her and pulling her close. They were both asleep in seconds.


	13. Chapter 13

Edward stopped at Heather's desk.

"Ready for lunch?"

"Sure." She smiled, putting her hand in his as they left the building to walk to Bailey's. They were stopped when a truck pulled up in front of them with the Constantino brothers. Her grip on Edward's hand tightened as they approached; he squeezed back gently to reassure her. Phil came straight to the colonel and began to talk to him. Heather didn't hear what they talked about because his brother hung back, out of Beck's field of view, and leered at her. He opened his mouth to speak. Something inside Heather snapped. She launched herself at him, fists flying.

Edward felt Heather's hand leave his suddenly, looking over to see her land on Clark. Phil was a second behind him in reacting, moving to help his brother. He was stopped by Beck's arm around his neck. Beck kept him in the chokehold until Heather stood up, leaving a bloodied Clark in a fetal position on the pavement. Clark's nose appeared to be broken, but he was much more concerned about another part of his anatomy at the moment.

Beck released Phil roughly, who went to help his brother up. Heather returned to him.

"You ok?" he asked her quietly, his hands on her shoulders.

"I feel pretty good, actually." She said. And she did. It was like a part of her that had been missing had clicked back into place. Like she'd gotten something back she hadn't even realized was gone.

"Nice work." He said, looking over at Clark. He finally was able to stand up, though he had a pronounced limp. Clark's belligerence was recovering quickly, however. Amazing. The man had just been beaten soundly and was still acting the aggressor. Perhaps it was because he didn't know any other way to act.

"You're dot going to arrest her? Dat whore broke my dose!"

"No. And watch your tongue."

"Dust because she's _your_ whore dow doesn't mea – "

He never got to say what it meant, because he was suddenly back on the ground with a broken jaw and an army boot on his throat. The scent of blood was joined by other, even less pleasant smells as a terrified Clark lost complete control of himself. Beck held his foot there for several seconds more, driving home the utter powerlessness and shame with a look of bottomless contempt.

"Get out of here. I don't ever want to see your face again." Clark nodded hurriedly, a broken man. Beck, wiping the blood off his hand, turned to Phil. "Next time you come into town, come alone." He walked away, leading Heather to the nearest humvee. He ignored the stares; he did not glance back at the broken, bloody, reeking wreck they'd left behind. Heather looked at him, wondering where they were headed, but said nothing. His expression was still too upset. She rode with him quietly.

A few minutes later, they were at the house.

"Ok, why are we here?" she asked.

"We need to change." He said, gesturing at Clark's blood on their clothes. "And I need to clear my mind." He suddenly turned and wrapped her up in a fierce hug. He spoke to her in that quiet, sincere voice she'd come to treasure.

"I'm proud of you."

Heather wondered that he would be proud of her for beating someone up. He eased the hug so he could look at her as he continued.

"That took guts. And I'm glad you gave him a piece of what he deserves."

"New Bern might be pissed about it, though."

"I don't care."

He gently brushed aside a strand of hair and kissed her. She returned it, warming in his arms.

This time, she didn't flinch.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: CID = criminal investigative division

Beck entered his office to find a Captain Smith waiting for him. He noted the CID patch on the major's shoulder. This should be interesting.

"Can I help you?"

"We've received some interesting reports from your command area. I was sent to open an investigation."

"Concerning?"

"You, sir. Specifically the alleged assault and battery of Clark Constantino."

"Ah."

"I've already been to New Bern. He's in pretty bad shape."

Beck looked at him, unrepentant.

"He deserves worse."

"Worse? He's eating through a straw!"

"Yes, he is."

The investigator grew exasperated at Beck's laconic unflappability.

"You can't go around beating the crap out of people!"

"I don't."

"So this one was special, then? Is that it?"

"You could say that."

"How?"

"It's rather personal."

"I'm going to have to insist."

Beck sighed. He glanced out his office at Heather. He tapped the glass to get her attention, then gestured for her to come in. He met her at the door, pitching his voice for her ears.

"This man is here to investigate about last week. He wants to know why." There was something in his tone, a request. He wanted her consent before speaking of such personal things. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I'll tell him." She said.

"You don't have to, I'll do it."

"No, it's okay."

The investigator observed their quiet conversation, watching their faces. He saw the obvious connection between them and noted the memory that crossed her face. Then she turned to address him.

"When I was held captive in New Bern, Clark Constantino 'interrogated' me. He wanted information about Jericho's defenses. He did everything he could to get me to talk." She paused in memory, eyes closed. She felt Edward give her hand a gentle squeeze and continued. "When he was through with me, his brother ordered me killed."

"Twice." Edward said. He didn't know why he felt the need to add that, but he did.

This revelation had a visible effect on the investigator. From the looks on their faces – especially Beck's - this was clearly a glossed over version, an understatement of horrors endured. He felt sick. But slowly the question formed on his face and he turned to Beck, who answered it before he could ask.

"When I arrived, I issued a 'blanket of amnesty' in order to promote 'reconciliation.'" His tone was acid in self-recrimination. "I don't think I've ever regretted an order more."

"You didn't know." Heather told him quietly.

"I should have." He insisted.

It was clearly not the first time they'd had this conversation.

"So you couldn't prosecute them." The investigator stated.

"No, I had to coordinate resistance efforts with them." Beck snorted bitterly. "The most I could do was tell them to leave her alone. Clark, however, didn't take the warning."

"So you beat the crap out of him."

"Actually, I took the first swing." Heather said. The investigator raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard that. "I don't know what came over me. I guess I was sick just of being scared of him. Sick of him leering at me every time we met. I just…snapped."

"She did a good job, too. He couldn't even stand up straight." Edward added, pride in his voice.

"So _then_ you beat him some more?" He asked Beck.

"No, he got up and asked for more." The investigator waited for more details. "He was still aggressive and belligerent. He insulted her. _That_ was whenI beat him."

The investigator paused to digest all this. Again, the details were glossed over, but he got the gist of it just fine. This was going to be one hell of a report.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Heather nodded, stepping out of the office. He turned to Beck. "You realize I'm going to need a written report to turn in? With specifics?" Beck nodded.

"I'll write it up."

"You'll probably get a letter of reprimand over this."

"Worth it."

"Can't say I disagree."


	15. Chapter 15

"I thought she'd never go to bed." Edward said, coming into the living room. "She's really excited about the play tomorrow." He slid onto the couch next to Heather and slipped his arm around her.

"Yeah, I had to hide the costume so she'd stop wearing it."

They sat there for a bit. Heather smiled.

"What?" Edward asked.

"You know, I really like this."

"Like what?"

"This whole family thing. I never really thought of myself as a family type – I sorta figured my students would be my life - but I don't think I've ever felt as 'at home' before in my life."

This comment caused Edward to pause in thought. Then he made a decision.

"Want to make it official?"

"What?"

"Let's get married." Her eyes went wide. "I know it's sudden – I don't even have a ring to give you – "

He was cut off by a fierce kiss which obviously meant yes. He went with it.

"Daddy? Miss Lisinski?"

They broke off the kiss and looked at the little girl in the nightgown.

"I think you'd better start calling her 'mom'." Edward said slowly.

"She doesn't have to, Eddy. Not unless she wants to." Heather told him quietly.

He paused, releasing Heather as he turned to address a puzzled looking Anna.

"You like Miss Lisinski, right?"

"Yeah." She crossed her arms, annoyed that he'd even had to ask.

"Well, Daddy likes her too. Daddy likes her a lot." He glanced at Heather, who smiled. "Daddy wants to make her a part of our family." The confused look was back.

"Isn't she already? She lives here."

He paused as he tried to find a way to explain it. His daughter was right, of course, though she wasn't really aware of all the reasons that made it so.

"She is. But I want to make it official. I want to marry her."

"But you're married to Mommy."

"Honey, Mommy died." He said gently, holding her little hands. "You stop being married when one of the people dies." He waited as she processed this.

"So…you're not married now?"

"No, honey."

"And you want to be married again?"

"Yes."

She paused to consider this, looking over at Heather. Finally she spoke.

"Well, I guess Miss Lisinski would be ok." She conceded, her manner very serious.

Heather laughed.

"I'm glad you approve." She said. "C'mere." She hugged Anna. "Do you want to be the flower girl?"

It was a simple ceremony; Edward Beck in dress uniform, Heather Lisinski in a simple white dress. Everyone awwwwed as Anna came down the aisle throwing wildflowers. Edward had insisted on an indoor ceremony. Otherwise, he had said, 'The entire regiment will come'. As it was, the church was packed with army green, leaving just enough room for Heather's friends. Ambassador Travis was also in attendance, passing through on a tour of the state.

At Bailey's, the ambassador watched them mingle.

"They really are something, aren't they?" he commented to his companions at the bar, mostly consisting of the office staff.

"Yes, sir. They are."

Just then, the colonel came over to return two empty glasses. Travis took the opportunity to compliment him.

"Congratulations, colonel. She's quite a lady. Don't ever let her get away."

This comment prompted laughter, and Beck shot a mock glare over at his men. Perhaps it was the beer, but they grinned back unrepentantly.

"I'm missing something here." The ambassador said, stating the obvious as Heather wandered over.

"She _almost_ got away once. It won't happen again." He captured his bride in his arms to emphasize his point.

"The colonel happens to be really good at chasing women." said Sgt. Posly, laughter in his eyes. Travis looked at the couple, raising an eyebrow for further explanation.

"Ed once chased down my truck."

"Good lord, how fast were you running?" he asked the colonel. His men, attempting to be helpful, answered for him.

"As fast as humanly possible -"

" - through base camp - "

" - in his nightclothes."

Travis covered his mouth to hide his grin at the image forming in his mind. He turned to Heather.

"You must really be something." She blushed at the compliment.

"Yes, she is." Edward kissed her cheek and led her to their table. "I'm keeping track, you know." He reminded her as he pulled out her chair.

"Keeping track of what?" Gail inquired.

"How many times she blushes."

"Why?" asked Jake.

"I told her she blushed too easily for her own good. Now she owes me a kiss for every blush." Edward grinned.

"Hardly sounds like a punishment to me, but I don't think I'd complain, either." Said Emily.

"Very clever, sir." Jake told him. "At this rate, your wedding night will never end." He said, gesturing at Heather's face, which now seemed to be stuck at fuschia. Heather threw a balled up napkin at Jake. He dodged, and, feeling daring, continued. "Have you considered using your cheeks to heat the house?"

"Hmmm, you know, that might work." Edward said, placing his hand on her cheek. "Whenever I get cold, I just tell her how beautiful she is. In the meantime, though, I'm going to collect."

The table looked on as Heather paid up.

"I need to find some habit of yours that needs correcting." Jake told Emily.

"You could just ask, you know." She replied, giving him a decorous peck on the cheek. Jake just rolled his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

Captain Dunne sat in the command tent on night duty, nibbling on some leftover food from the reception. She sighed to herself softly. They really were quite a couple, those two. That was when the satellite phone rang. She put down her snack and picked up the receiver.

"Captain Dunne speaking."

"Captain, this is General Slattery. I need to speak to Colonel Beck."

"He's not available at the moment. May I take a message?"

"No, I really need to speak to him about this."

"Perhaps if you tell me what you need, I can help you."

"You can't just find him? This is about a matter we've already discussed, it won't take but a few minutes."

"Sir, I've been given strict orders not to disturb him until 0900 tomorrow morning, except for emergencies."

The General sputtered. It was only 2030 hours. And he was a general, dammit! Colonels did not keep two-stars waiting overnight.

"Get him on the phone now, _Captain_!"

"Sir –"

"Captain! Why are you still on the phone? Go get him!"

"Sir, with all due respect, the colonel will kill me if I disturb his wedding night. I believe his exact words on the subject were 'I don't care who it is; if they're not shooting at you, I will be.' "

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"His wedding night?"

"Yes, sir."

Another pause.

"Ah, I suppose it can wait until morning…but I'll be expecting a call at 0930."

Captain Dunne smiled.

"Yes, sir. I'll let him know."

Mr. and Mrs. Beck were in bed, talking. Heather ran her finger across Edward's skin, tracing random patterns. She decided to take the subject of conversation in a more serious direction.

"Y'know, my implant expires in another month."

He shifted up on his side so he could look her in the eyes. The date had slipped his mind. She'd mentioned that she'd gotten it in Cheyenne; she'd admitted it was as much a reaction to her experiences in New Bern as a concern about a steady supply of the pill. But now -

"Should I bother getting it replaced?" she asked.

"What do you want to do?"

She just smiled at him. A smile spread across his face as well.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

They lay there for a moment, just smiling at each other about their decision. Then Heather spoke.

"So which do you want? A boy or a girl?"

"Well, little girls are delightful. But little boys are a lot of fun too. I just hope it's an even mix. Being surrounded by sisters was not always fun."

"'Surrounded'? Just how many kids are you thinking of having?" She asked, eyeing him.

"I – sorry. I should have asked you. Maria and I had planned on more, but being deployed kept getting in the way. What do you think?"

"I don't know. What's it like, having a big family? I was an only child, and I only had a couple of cousins."

"Well, it can get kind of crazy sometimes. But it's also pretty awesome. We always had someone to call, whatever we needed. And we always had the best family gatherings, kids running everywhere and plenty of food."

She considered this for a moment.

"Eddy, how much family do you have left? Were they all in Miami?"

"They all lived in Miami. But I still have a cousin that was deployed at the time, and a niece and nephew who were away at school. Anna still has a couple of aunts in New Mexico as well."

"That's not much."

"No, it's not." He agreed. He paused for a moment, reflecting. "What about you?"

"I didn't have as many to start with. My parents and grandparents were gone before the attacks, and I lost an aunt and uncle and my cousins in Chicago. I probably have an uncle in Iowa."

"Probably?"

"We were never close; I think I saw him twice as a child. I was told he was an alcoholic since I was about five. Didn't really make an effort to contact him after the bombs."

They lay quietly, contemplating the subject of family.

"Tell you what." He said "Let's just take it as we go. No reason to decide right now."

"We'll see. You make it sound nice." She buried her fingers in his hair, pulling him down and kissing him.


	17. Chapter 17

Heather woke up to Edward shaking her shoulders.

"Heather! Wake up!" She blinked to clear her eyes. She heard the distant sound of airplanes, followed by a rolling explosion. She threw off the covers and ran to Anna's room. Leaving Ed to get dressed and go to the command center in camp, she scooped Anna out of bed and raced to the basement.

Edward put on his uniform, letting himself worry briefly about his family before he turned his mind to the military situation. He knew the basement was the best place for them to go right now, although the location of their house on the edge of base camp wasn't really calculated to put his mind at ease. It was at least on the opposite end of camp from the main targets – the command tents and the airstrip. Which is where he was headed now.

He allowed himself a brief smile as he pulled on his body armor. Heather had laid down very strict rules about wearing it. He had to wear it when he was out in a possible combat zone, of course. (Unfortunately, these days that included the streets of Jericho) However, she also demanded that he take it off when he entered the house. And she flatly refused to kiss him while he was wearing it, saying it 'got in the way'. He did have to admit that her logic was undeniable. Especially that last point.

Another, closer explosion as he exited the house wiped the smile from his face. He put away thoughts of family and turned fully into Colonel Beck.

The command tent was controlled chaos as he entered.

"What's the situation?"

"We've got reports that New Bern is being bombed as well. They seem to be restricting themselves to military targets – the factory and us." A nearby explosion added unnecessary emphasis to that last point.

"Well thank goodness for small miracles. I don't suppose we have any air support on the way?"

"They're half an hour out, sir."

"By which time the bombers will be done."

Dunne nodded rueful agreement.

Just then there was yet another explosion, and this one knocked the command tent flat on top of them. The last thing Beck remembered was the sound of a fuel tank exploding and the sensation of hot metal on his leg.

Heather sat on the edge of the hospital bed, holding Edward's hand. He was asleep, still out from the anesthesia. Anna was also asleep, her head resting on the arm of the chair she was sitting in. They'd assured her he'd be fine, though he would be on limited duty for a while due to his injured leg.

She wouldn't have thought that; she'd seen the tent, and felt a stab of terror. She'd tried to go dig him out, but Lt. Posly had dragged her away, saying they'd already taken him to the hospital, and that his armor had saved his life. So she'd taken off for the hospital and been here ever since.

She felt his fingers tighten on hers, and looked up to see him open his eyes. His eyes lit and he gave her a dopey, drugged smile. She felt a smile form on her own face.

"Hey, Ed."

"Hey, beautiful."

Her smile broadened at his greeting, as well as its dreamy tone.

"You're really high, aren't you?"

"Yeah…" He grinned at her, pulling her close to kiss her. She giggled, but didn't resist. Even drugged, he was a great kisser. A few seconds later, they were startled by a loud beeping tone, followed by nurses rushing in, led by Mrs. Green.

"What the – " Heather started, trailing off. Edward just blinked at the nursing staff in fuzzy state of confusion.

Gail looked at them, and sighed dramatically.

"He's supposed to be on bed_ rest_."

"I just kissed him!"

"Right. The heart rate monitor went off for no reason."

"Yeah, if that was just a kiss, you need to share your technique." That was another nurse, Fiona, Heather thought her name was.

"I – " Heather protested.

"Off the bed."

"What?"

"Off the bed. Clearly you two can't be trusted to keep your hands off each other, so I'm instituting a new rule. The bedrail must remain up, and _you_ have to stay on the other side of it."

"But – "

"Don't make me add the open-door rule." Gail gave Heather a look that took her back to her high school years with astonishing speed.

"We're not teenagers!"

"No. You're newlyweds. Which is worse." She pointed at the empty chair next to Anna. "Now _move_."

Heather saw the unyielding look on Gail's face and moved, muttering about mothers under her breath. Edward still looked slightly confused. Anna, awakened by the commotion, was also confused.

"Is Daddy ok?"

Gail turned to the little girl.

"He'll be fine, honey. But he's not supposed to kiss anyone for a while."

"Even Mom?"

"_Especially_ Mom."

Gail moved over and raised the railing on the bed. Beck, his brain fogged by pain meds, was finally catching up with the situation.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Colonel. Doctor's orders."

He just gave her an injured look that would make any adolescent proud.

The hours passed slowly, playing crazy eights with Anna. Edward played, too, though he didn't do too well. He eventually folded and drifted in and out of sleep. There seemed to be an endless stream of nurses coming by to check on this and that, though Heather was sure that they were checking on her. And the bedrail.

Finally, Kenchy came in to check on him, looking at his chart.

"So, how are we doing?"

Heather looked over at her sleepy husband.

"Well-medicated."

"Totally high." Edward amended. Heather smiled at his soldier's disdain for euphemisms.

"Well, that's in order then. For the record, the morphine drip stops tomorrow. You should be able to go home in a couple of days. However, you'll need to take it easy for a while. Crutches for two weeks, and no strenuous activity either. After that, a bit of rehab." He turned his gaze to Heather, amusement in his eyes. "I know you two have made plans, but you're going to have to put them on hold for a bit. If he tears his stitches, I know who I'm coming after." Heather blushed at Kenchy's orders, looking away, but nodded. Kenchy chuckled at her reaction. "It's not every day a kiss makes a patient's chart." He put the chart back where it belonged. "I'll be by tomorrow morning."

When the door closed, Heather let out a sigh, putting her head in her hands.

"They're never going to let us live that down, are they?"

"Not sure I want to." Beck grinned at her.


	18. Chapter 18

The lieutenant looked around him at the base outside of Jericho. He'd considered sending word ahead, but discarded the idea as impractical; non-official communication these days was sporadic at best, especially when you were trying to reach someone who was in, essentially, a separate army. He'd have gotten here before the message, if it got here at all. Besides, the lieutenant was looking forward to surprising him. It wouldn't make up for all the times his target had ambushed him when they were kids, but it would be a nice down payment. Ah, this must be it. He pulled past it, parking the truck behind some bushes and closing the door quietly.

He grinned as he crept around to the backyard, intending to sneak into the house and wait for his 'victim' on the couch. His plans were thwarted, however, by a little girl's cry.

"Uncle Joe!"

Anna ran towards him and he swung her into the air.

"Uncle Joe! Uncle Joe!"

"Hey, there, Cutie. How's my niece?"

Just then, a woman walked out of the back door. He shifted Anna to his hip and turned to address her.

"Uh, hi. I'm - "

"- Ed's cousin. Come on in. I'm sure he'd love to see you."

They made their way to the back door, finding Edward gimping towards the door on one crutch. Heather sighed, but decided not to chastise him for it. This time.

"Hey, Joe." He threw his arms around his cousin in a big hug. Heather chuckled at the sight of Edward and Joe, hugging around Anna and the crutch. The hug finally broke and they stood back, looking each other over.

"What happened to you?" asked Joe, gesturing at the crutch.

"Piece of a fuel tank hit my leg. What happened to your hand?" Edward asked, pointing at a scar that was still raw and pink.

"Crossfire."

They stood there for a moment in silence, not sure where to start. Heather took the opportunity to herd them from the doorway.

"Let's move to the living room, I'm sure you've got a lot to talk about."

"Indeed."

"Make sure you put that leg up."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, obediently sitting down on the couch.

Joe looked at her in amazement.

"Wow. He doesn't do that for just anyone."

She just smiled, sitting next to Edward, who took her hand. Joe looked at their hands, noting the rings on their fingers. Joe raised an eyebrow at his cousin; he'd received the last message from Edward over a year ago – after months in transit – and it had said that he still hadn't found his family. Edward gave him a nod of confirmation before introducing his wife.

"I'm sorry, Joe, this is Heather. Heather, Joe."

Joe paused briefly. He knew better than to think that his cousin would have moved on if he hadn't known for sure Maria was dead. He wasn't sure how to express condolences and congratulations in the same breath, so he just nodded, hoping the look on his face conveyed what he felt. The expression on Edward's face showed that it had been. Anna, oblivious, jumped into her uncle's lap.

"Oof. You've gotten heavier."

"Did you get me anything?"

Joe produced a lollipop from one of his shirt pockets. She reached for it, but he held it higher, out of her grasp.

"Ah ah ah – this is a special sucker. It's root beer flavored." Her eyes went wide. Many things had been put back into production since the bombs; however, soda was still a very rare commodity. She started to stand in his lap, and he teased her a bit more before letting her have it. She moved to open it, but Heather stopped her.

"You should wait; dinner's almost ready. If you start it now, you'll have to stop halfway through."

"Yeah, why don't you go set the table?"

Anna scampered off to the kitchen.

"So where do you want to start?"

"You start. You've seen more of the country than I have."

"Yeah, but you've been right in the middle of the action – I mean, _Jericho. _The bomb, Jake Green, Robert Hawkins – you saw it all. You realize you're going to be in the history books, right?"

"Not as much as you might think – and I'm happy to let those two take the credit." He paused, remembering that he'd actually been working against them. What he'd done in the name of a government that had lied to him. It seemed that people (_outside_ of Jericho and New Bern, anyway) didn't know about that, only hearing about his decision to rebel. "Actually, most of it went on right under my nose. It wasn't until the situation got way out of control that the truth came out. And even then I didn't want to see it. Not exactly my finest moment. It took a lot to open my eyes." He shot Heather a small smile.

"What?" Joe asked.

"Heather's the one who made me see what was going on. Told me I was a blind coward."

Joe stared at her, plainly impressed. And, if he was honest with himself, slightly intimidated. Anyone who took on his cousin – and won – was someone to watch. It also explained the attraction, at least on Edward's part.

"Yeah, and then you locked me in a cell."

"Hey, I let you out."

Joe looked back and forth as they bantered. The terse, distant Edward that written that letter was gone, and he was glad. And there was clearly a really good story here.

"Mom! The water's boiling!" The atmosphere of the moment was broken by Anna's cry.

"Excuse me."

Joe leaned over.

"Ed – what happened to Maria?"

"She got a virus. Anna was lucky enough to end up in an orphanage. And it's ok to talk about her in front of Heather."

"I'm sorry." They sat in silence for a moment, until Joe's sincere regret was overtaken by curiosity about this woman he'd just met. "So how'd you two meet?"

"Well, I first met her at Camp Liberty; later, she agreed to work as the local liaison. When Anna arrived, Heather took care of her. From there – " he shrugged.

"Anna really seems to like her."

Edward smiled.

"Heather's good with kids - taught elementary school before the bombs."

"Cute, too. If she were single – does she have sisters?"

Edward laughed.

"Sorry, no."

Anna came running back out and again launched herself into Joe's lap, making him grunt loudly.

"Ok, Anna, much as I love you, you're going to have to stop doing that. You're getting way too big." He tickled her and she shrieked with laughter. Heather came out, laughing at the happy scene. Anna tried to tickle him back, but he was too quick for her. Then she tried to get away, but he caught her wrists and held them.

"Lemme go!"

"Nope."

She squirmed in his grasp.

"Lemme go!"

"Let her go." Heather's voice was quiet but clear. Joe paused, looking up at her, puzzled at her suddenly serious tone.

"Joe." That was Edward, his voice equally quiet. Joe released Anna's hands, and she scurried off yet again at her typical speed. Heather went back into the kitchen.

"What was that about?"

"Heather was held prisoner in New Bern. They didn't follow the Geneva Conventions." Joe's eyes went wide. "I do my best to avoid triggers, but – " He sighed. "She's actually very forgiving in that regard. Just try not to sneak up on her, you know?" Joe nodded. "Also, she's perfectly capable of giving you a black eye out of sheer reflex. And it would be good to keep in mind that a lot of people in this town are like her. It was bad here."

"Eddy! Dinner!"

"Coming!"

"You must really love her. I've gotten noogies for calling you Eddy."

"And you still will. Shall we?"

They rose and headed to the dining room.

"You know, crutches come in pairs for a reason."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"


	19. Chapter 19

Colonel Franks from the Texas National guard was sitting in Beck's office with Beck, Dunne, Heather, and Goodman. They were discussing how to move supplies until they could rebuild the airstrip. The idea that small-town Jericho had become something of a transportation hub, crates piling up, people coming and going, still struck Heather as odd.

"Do you have the trains?" Colonel Franks asked. "We have trucks, but I'm not sure we have train cars."

"There's a few cars that are dinged a bit – they were used in the conflict between New Bern and Jericho. The engine probably needs a lot more work – it was involved in a head-on collision with a tank." Heather paused, trying to remember more details.

"A tank?"

"Yeah, Jericho got their hands on a tank after the attacks and parked it on the tracks. Derailed the whole train." Beck put in, smiling at the tactic. The wreckage had been spectacular.

"I don't think that I've heard of anyone using a tank like that before."

"Well, we were out of ammunition for it. That was all we _could_ do." Heather told him.

"So how long do you think it would take to fix them up?" Franks asked.

"Uh…" She grimaced, covering her mouth.

"Heather, you ok?" That was Beck.

Her eyes darted to the trash can. Beck leaned back in his chair and snagged it, handing it to her. She leaned over it; he held her hair back until the retching subsided.

"Feel better now?" He asked. She nodded. He handed her a napkin, and she wiped her face.

"I'll go clean up."

"Just a sec." Beck rolled over in his chair and rummaged around in his desk. He handed her a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a washcloth.

"You're so sweet."

"I try."

She turned to go, and found Colonel Franks looking faintly disgusted. She looked at him in surprise; she'd found very few soldiers were squeamish. She was amused, however, at the real reason for his disgust.

"You're going to use someone else's toothbrush?" She smiled at him.

"Trust me colonel, not an issue." She continued out the door.

The colonel was puzzled by this comment. He was even more puzzled by the quickly hidden smiles of Dunne and Goodman.

"What – ?" he asked, pointing after her.

"She means she's already been exposed to any germs I have."

"You usually share toiletries?"

"We share a lot of things. Heather happens to be my wife."

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "Ah, where were we?"

"Fixing trains."

Joe wandered into Bailey's and looked around. He was here to meet Edward and Heather for lunch, but they didn't seem to be here yet. However, others here seemed to take an interest in him. A man with dark, shaggy hair waved him over.

"You must be Beck's cousin."

"Uh, yeah -?"

"Sorry, I'm Jake Green, and this is my mother."

"Gail." She said.

Joe was hard put not to goggle. This was _the _Jake Green. And he looked like an overgrown adolescent, crooked grin on his face and wearing a faded t-shirt and torn jeans.

"Come on, sit. We won't bite." That was Gail, and he complied. She was motherly, but he could sense that she wasn't anyone to trifle with either.

"It seems that my reputation precedes me."

"Eh, it's a small town. News travels fast." Jake shrugged.

"What else have people been saying about me?"

"Not much, really. Though almost everyone has seen you around with Anna."

Joe had to admit that he'd been spending a lot of time with his niece. Correction: spoiling her rotten, like any good uncle. His hosts had taken advantage of such babysitting for both work and personal time.

"So how long are you staying?" Asked Gail.

"Well, I'm not sure - my tour was almost up when I got this." He held up his hand, showing a fading scar. "I chose to leave and look for family. Ed was the easiest to find, being in the news and all. I'm also planning to look for other nieces and a nephew, but leads on them are sketchier." Their faces showed concern about the children he'd be looking for, and he clarified. "They were all away at college, so they have as good a chance as anyone."

He was startled by a hand on his neck, gripping him tightly. He recognized that grip.

"Dammit, Ed! Are you ever going to grow up?"

"I shouldn't be able to do that. Especially these days. And me with a limp."

"I'm in a bar! Not on patrol! Now let me go!"

Edward relented, releasing him with a chuckle. The Greens looked on in amusement. Joe rubbed the back of his neck as the couple he came to meet sat down with them. Mary came over.

"What can I get you?"

"Uh…a hamburger." Joe said.

"My usual." Edward told her.

"Just water for me."

"You're not hungry, Heather?"

"My stomach's not feeling so good."

"Coming down with something?"

"Don't think so. Think I got it already." At the puzzled looks, she explained. "I'm pretty sure it's morning sickness."

Everyone exchanged looks, then the congratulations began. Except for Gail, who shook her head after doing some quick mental math.

"You two are hopeless."

Edward smiled at her, pulling his blushing wife closer to kiss her on the cheek.

"No stitches were torn in the making of this baby." He told the nurse.

Gail sighed, giving up on the couple. Instead she turned to her son.

"When am _I_ going to get grandbabies?"

Jake choked on his food.


	20. Chapter 20

Edward and Heather were sitting on the couch, their arms around each other, watching Joe and Anna play checkers on the floor nearby. Anna had just won, doing a victory dance in her pajamas when Heather decided this was as good a time as any.

"Hey, Anna, come here." Heather said.

"We've got something to tell you."

"What, Daddy?"

"You're going to be a big sister."

"A big sister?"

"A big sister."

"I'm getting a little sister?" She was excited.

"Well, it could be a little brother. We don't know." Heather said.

"You don't?"

"Well, no. We won't know until it gets bigger."

"Where is it?"

"Right in here." Edward said, putting his hand on Heather's belly.

Her eyes went wide.

"You ate it?"

All the adults laughed.

"Actually, it's next to my stomach, not in it. And it's tiny right now."

"But it's going to grow." Edward added.

"And my belly's going to get really big." She told Anna.

"That's not all that gets bigger." Ed whispered in her ear, giving her a surreptitious grope.

"Eddy! Stop that!" she whispered back, smacking his arm.

"How big?" asked Anna, oblivious to the byplay thanks to Joe's distracting 'cough'.

"About out to here." Her father told her, indicating a distance with his hand. Heather groaned. "Hey, you signed up for this."

"I know, I know."

"What are you going to name it?" Anna followed up.

They looked at each other.

"We don't know yet, honey." Heather said.

"Yeah, we're going to need some time to think about it."

"In the meantime, it's time for you to go to bed."

Anna looked put out for a minute. Joe, feeling sorry for her, challenged her to see who could get the most bubbles while brushing their teeth, which perked her right back up. Edward watched his cousin follow his daughter down the hall before turning to Heather.

"What _should_ we name it?" He asked her.

"Well, if it's a girl, I've always liked Alexandra."

"That's a pretty name. Is it after anyone?"

"My aunt. She was the one who taught me it's ok for a girl to like tools."

"Sounds good. What if it's a boy?"

"Well, if it's a boy, I was thinking of naming him after his father." She smiled at him.

"I'd rather not, actually." Heather waited for an explanation. "I was named after my dad. I hated it, because I became Edito or Eddy, depending on which side of the family was speaking."

"Edito?"

"Spanish for 'little Ed'. It got kinda old when I reached high school."

"Yeah, I remember that speech." Joe had gotten Anna to her bedroom, but she'd asked for a glass of water.

"'That speech'?" asked Heather.

"Ed stood up in front of everybody at thanksgiving one year and insisted that we all stop calling him Eddy. He was rather strident about it, more so than normal."

"Yeah, well, grandma had just called me 'my precious Eddy'. She pinched my cheek, too."

Heather and Joe both winced in sympathy.

"Did the speech work? Heather asked.

"Only on those of us smaller than him."

Heather looked at her husband sharply, following the implication.

"You beat up on them?"

"Well, 'beat up' isn't precisely the right word." Joe said, hand reaching for his head in memory. "There were a lot of noogies, though. And I think Robert got a wedgie for it once."

"He was doing it _on purpose_." Edward said plaintively.

"He never did know when to quit." Joe admitted.

Heather looked on, amazed at this side of the man she'd fallen in love with. She wondered what else there was that Edward hadn't told her.

"Joe, you and I need to have a nice long chat about your childhood."

"Oh no you don't!" Edward warned. He turned to his cousin. "I'll tell her about that time at summer camp!"

"You wouldn't!"

Edward just looked back at him serenely. Joe caved.

"Sorry, Heather. Got a few too many skeletons in my own closet."

"Uncle Joe!"

"Coming!" He'd forgotten about the glass of water.

Heather looked over at Edward for a long moment, but decided to let it drop. "So how come you don't mind when I call you Eddy?"

"I guess because it's you. I know you don't think of me as a little boy."

"Well, you aren't a little boy. I think that's been proven pretty definitively."

"Well, how about naming him – assuming it's a him - after your father?"

"My dad's name was Jebediah. Not really my first choice." She told him.

"Hmmm…what was his middle name?"

"Edwin."

He laughed.

"I guess we should retire 'Ed' for a while."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She agreed. "What about your middle name?"

"Victor? Yeah, that could work."

"Victor Beck. I like it." She rested her head on his shoulder.

Joe loaded up his truck with supplies as his hosts looked on. Edward was holding a very unhappy Anna; after prying her off of Joe's leg the third time, he didn't turn her loose again. Joe didn't like leaving Anna either, but they'd gotten word from newly liberated territory in California from Fred, their nephew. Joe was also going to stop along the way to check the towns where the nieces had gone to school; hopefully they had stayed put or at least left word where they went. He tied down the last gas can and turned to say goodbye.

"Well, I should get going." He turned to Anna, who had decided that if she couldn't stop him, she was going to ignore him. He sighed, looking at her pouty expression. She continued with the cold shoulder, but he leaned over to kiss her cheek. Which was a mistake; as soon as he came within arms' length, she latched on like a limpet.

"Don't go!"

"I'll be back as soon as I can, ok? And I'll bring back as many of your cousins as I can find."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She wiped tears (and her nose) on his shirt. "Please let go now, Anna." Heather gently pried Anna's fingers away; Edward used his free hand to shake Joe's.

"Be careful out there."

"I will."

"Good luck."

They gave each other a last look, and then Edward put an arm around Heather as they watched Joe drive off.


	21. Chapter 21

He found her in the dark living room, curled up on the couch and staring off into space.

"Heather? You okay?" When she didn't respond, he turned on the light, and she jerked, looking around. "What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Dunno, you were pretty far out there. Your eyes might have been open, but…"

"Yeah, I suppose I was."

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Things." She tried to dismiss it as nothing, but her hand gave her away, drifting towards her belly. He sat down beside her.

"Heather, what is it?"

"I guess I'm just nervous. I've never been a mom before. Well, you know what I mean. I'm sorta freaking out. What if I screw up, and – I mean, this baby will come out however I raise it, and if I do it wrong –"

"Heather." His voice stopped her before she could get too hysterical. He took her hand, and she looked at him gratefully for saving her from herself.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It happens."

"You mean this is normal?"

"Well, yeah." He looked at her, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine."

"But I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"What are you talking about? You're great with kids."

"Kids. Not babies. I don't even know how to change a diaper."

"I'll show you." He looked around, finding one of Anna's dolls and using it to demonstrate. "First, you take the old one off and dispose of it – " He pantomimed throwing away a stinky diaper, dramatically holding it at arms' length and pinching his nose with the other hand. Heather had to laugh. He grinned at her, glad he could make her laugh. "Seriously, Heather. You'll do great."

"How can you be so sure?"

He turned away from the doll, taking Heather's face in his hands.

"You're already a great mom." She started to open her mouth, but he put a finger on her lips. "I know she's not a baby. But I know you'll take just as good care of this baby as you have of Anna. And while the technical stuff of taking care of a baby is a little different, all the really important stuff is the same." He'd put as much sincerity into his voice as he could, and it seemed to be working; she'd relaxed, trusting that he knew what he was talking about.

"You'll teach me all that technical stuff?"

"Of course." He pulled her close, touching her forehead with his and dropping one hand to her still-flat belly. They paused, stretching out this moment of connectedness and awe and anticipation until finally he spoke again. "I love you." Somehow he managed to address both Heather and the baby under his hand at the same time. He kissed her cheek, then her belly, before taking her into his arms. Heather reveled in his touch, nuzzling his neck. They sat there for a while, just holding each other, until Edward carried his sleeping wife back to bed.

Colonel Beck was talking with General Grissom, U.S. Army. One of the things that had happened when Jericho became a hub is that there was, well, not exactly a tourist spot (not yet, anyway), but everyone who happened to travel through made a point of looking around. Beck found himself entertaining the higher-ranking visitors. Sometimes it was annoying; some were overbearing, ignoring the fact that he was busy with important things. But today he didn't mind; there was a lull in activity and his guest was congenial. His guest had just told him a genuinely funny joke when Heather threw open the door to his office.

"Are you insane? This plan to rebuild the factory is completely unrealistic! You'll never get Roberts to work with Constantino – they hate each other's guts! Not to mention that the factory shouldn't be built the same way it was before – it was designed to build bikes, not munitions!"

Beck leaned back, taking her tirade in stride.

"Heather, perhaps we could discuss this later?" He glanced over at his guest. Heather followed his eyes, noticing Colonel Grissom for the first time.

"Fine." She walked out in a huff.

"You let your staff talk to you like that?"

"It's just the hormones talking. She'll apologize in a few minutes."

"Still – her husband should be the only one who has to put up with that."

"I'm afraid that doesn't exactly get me off the hook."

Grissom paused as he added two and two.

"That wasn't - ?" he asked, chagrined.

"It was."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. She'll be just as embarrassed after meeting you like that. She's really very nice. Just a little crazy at the moment. I should probably take her to lunch; that might help."

Grissom looked over at the time.

"Good idea. And now that you mention it, I'm rather hungry myself. Where's a good place to eat in this town?"

"Most of us go to Bailey's. Plenty of local flavor. Probably end up as a historical establishment; revolutions really do start in pubs. Come on, I'll walk you there."

They stood and walked out of the office. Beck stopped at Heather's desk.

"Heather."

"I – sorry about earlier."

"Don't worry about it. You ready for lunch?"

"Of course."

"General Grissom's going to join us for lunch today."

She looked around him at the visitor, coloring slightly.

"Uh, hi."

He took pity on her and smiled gently.

"Hello, Ma'am. Nice to meet you."

Heather wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so she just nodded awkwardly.

"Come on, Heather." Beck said, gesturing her forward. "Maybe Mary will give you extra pickle today." He grinned, taking the glare (and the discreet smack on the arm) as a small price he was willing to pay for his cheek.


	22. Chapter 22

Sarah sat in the truck and listened to the others talk about Beck. She felt like an outsider; she only knew Uncle Joe. She'd met Jackie once or twice; she was Uncle Joe's niece, too, but had grown up with Beck as an 'uncle' as well. Sarah had lived on the other side of the country from him; Jackie hadn't. And then there was Jose, who was Beck's nephew from his wife's side of the family. And he was cute enough that she was seriously debating asking him out, technical relation or not.

"- So Ed and I were hiding in the coat closet, holding our breath, hoping that his mom didn't walk around the couch and see the junk food we'd been eating." He paused as he negotiated around a pothole. "But it wasn't the food that gave us away. We didn't think about the remote – Ed was still holding it. She noticed it was missing."

"Never could anything by Grandma Beck." Jose agreed. "I swear she kept a running tally of the cookies in the cookie jar."

"Sorry about that."

"Why?"

"She had to do that for us."

"Ah. Now I get it. She practiced on you guys."

"Yeah, we tried every trick in the book. A few of them worked once or twice, but she always caught on eventually."

They fell silent for a bit, until Sarah spoke up.

"So what's Jericho really like? Have you met Jake Green and Robert Hawkins?

"Well, it's a small town that's been sort of taken over and built up by the military; everything has a new-paint smell. And yes, I met them."

"What are they like? They sound pretty badass, but I bet the tale's exaggerated."

"Some, yes. But I wouldn't want to cross them, especially Hawkins."

"Why Hawkins?"

"Well, he's been trained. He knows how to keep his cool, to step back and plan. Jake is rather hot-headed, though not as much as he used to be before he met Hawkins. That's what makes Hawkins dangerous; you don't see him coming for you, even if he's standing in front of you."

"How's Uncle Ed? I heard that Maria died, that he remarried. What's his new wife like?"

"He's doing fine. Yeah, Maria caught a virus. And Heather's really nice. They're expecting a baby in a few months. Anna's looking forward to being a big sister."

"She doesn't mind having a stepmom?"

"No, she actually really likes her. Heather was taking care of Anna; that's how Ed and Heather got together."

They were interrupted by Jackie's snore, letting them know she'd drifted off. Sarah chuckled.

"I hope she gets her own room. I don't sleep well with snorers."

"Well, their place is pretty big, you probably will. Or you could probably stay at Heather's place in town if you don't want to live on base."

"Hey, look at that." Jose pointed to a pickup truck coming towards them with several _very_ happy occupants. They were cheering. Joe slowed a bit, and the truck approaching them slowed as well. The smiling men in the bed of the pickup leaned over, eager to share some good news.

"It's over! This damned war is over!"

"Did he just say - ?"

"I think he did." Joe leaned out of the window, slowing to a stop. "What? When?"

"A few hours ago. Cheyenne surrendered! It'll be official – Tomarchio's going to turn himself over in an hour."

"What about Valente?"

"He killed himself. Coward."

"Damn. Oh well, at least he's dead."

"There is that." The other driver agreed, driving off.

"Let's get to Jericho." Joe said, stepping on the gas.

In Jericho, the news had come via HAM radio. It had come at a cost of $1 (he'd raised his prices), but the news was quickly verified through military channels. Work had come to a complete standstill as people celebrated. There were hugs, cheers and high fives in the sheriff's office that interrupted a staff meeting. However, when the staff noticed the apparent lack of response from their CO, they turned in his direction to find him fully occupied in a quieter, but very enthusiastic form of celebration with Heather.

"Hey, get a room, you two!"

An unrepentant Beck broke the kiss as Heather shot their audience a glare.

"It might have escaped your notice, but we're _in_ a room." He told them, shooting a pointed look at the door to his office.

"…right. We'll just be going now."

The happy couple never heard them leave.


	23. Chapter 23

It was the day after the surrender that Joe, Sarah, Jackie, and Jose arrived in Jericho. They were slowed down by several people literally dancing in the street; virtually everyone had taken the day as a holiday. Eventually they made their way to the sheriff's offices, where Joe expected to find Beck, whether or not he was actually working. However, he was informed that 'The Becks had gone home for lunch – something about pickles'.

So they picked their way through more happy people - soldiers this time – and entered the house. Not seeing them in the dining room, they went into the kitchen, which was also empty, though there was a jar of pickles on the counter.

"That's odd." Joe said. "E-" he was cut off by Jackie's hand over his mouth.

"Shhh!"

"What?" he asked quietly, removing her hand.

"So I'm the only one who hears that?"

The others looked at her strangely but listened. Then Sarah covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle. The men looked at the girls, even more puzzled.

"I don't think she was craving pickles. At least, not just pickles."

"For god's sake, what do you hear?" hissed Jose.

"It's faint, but – mattress springs."

"Mattres- Ah. We should g-"

"- oooohh"

They practically ran out of the house.

"Hey, that's Joe's truck."

"So it is. But where's Joe?"

Heather went to the door and looked out.

"There they are."

"Hey! Get over here!"

Jose and Jackie ran right over to greet Uncle Ed; Sarah hung back a bit, unsure of her place here. Heather noticed this and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay; you're part of the family."

"Thanks. You must be Heather."

"Yeah." Sarah felt a kick to the stomach as the newest member of the family announced himself. "And that's Victor."

"Victor. How appropriate."

"We thought so."

Joe caught up to the happy reunion, grinning around a mouthful of sandwich.

"And hello to you too, Joe. Nice to know that stuffing your face was the first order of business upon arriving in Jericho, not seeing your favorite cousin."

"Uh…" The new arrivals suddenly found their feet rather interesting. It took only a few seconds for Heather to start blushing furiously.

"Oops." Was all Edward said.

"Yeah. Lock the door, willya?"

Another beat later, and Edward turned the conversation in another direction.

"So let's get you all settled in. I can't wait to hear your stories…"

"Jackie!"

They all turned to see Anna running up the path from Jake's car. Jake waved as he parked.

"Heard you were back, so I got Emily to let her out of school. Lots of kids were out anyway."

Anna was passed around as Jake was properly introduced.

"Ow!" Heather said. "I think Victor's going to be a soccer player." She explained to the group.

"Let's get inside, so you can sit." Edward said.

"I think I'd like to eat too."

"Anna, would you go get her something?"

"'Kay!"

In a flash, she was back with the pickle jar, causing general laughter.

"What? You like Pickles!"

"You're so smart, knowing just what Mommy likes."

"She's not my Mommy, she's my Mom." Anna said, correcting Jose in a classic 'adults-don't-know-anything' tone.

"Enough chit-chat. Hand 'em over."


	24. Epilogue

The President and Colonel Beck stood on a platform at the new White House in Columbus. The President pinned a medal on the Colonel.

"I am pleased to present this award to Colonel Beck for his actions during the civil war. He saw that his orders were immoral and made the choice to take a stand. He used skill, intrigue and resourcefulness to materially and dramatically assist the war effort."

The president stopped and looked at Beck, who seemed distinctly uncomfortable. He would have thought it was the media, or the ceremony, but he'd met the Colonel briefly before, and he didn't seem the type to be unsettled because people were staring at him.

"What is it, soldier?" he asked quietly, covering the microphone.

"I… I can't take credit for all that."

"Ok…"

"It's true, I did choose to take a stand. But I wasn't the one who questioned my orders." The president gestured for him to continue. "A rather remarkable woman on my staff did – and she told me so. Rather forcefully. She demanded that I open my eyes to see the suffering my orders were causing. She, ah, called me a coward." He looked down at the audience, ignoring the curious stares to meet his wife's gaze. "And she was right."

The president followed his gaze.

"Is that her?" he asked equally quietly.

"Yes, sir."

"Ma'am, would you please come here?"

Heather hesitated.

"Please, Ma'am."

She heaved herself up from her seat. Her pregnant belly made standing a chore. Everyone turned in her direction. She waddled up onto the platform.

"I'll get you for this." She told Edward under her breath.

"What's your name, Ma'am?"

"Heather Beck."

The president raised an eyebrow at the general. Beck simply nodded.

"I see." He turned to Heather. "It seems we owe you a great debt. Thank you."

She blushed, looking away. The president seemed surprised at this timid reaction from the woman Edward Beck had just described.

"_She_ called you a coward?"

"Don't ever piss her off, sir. Not unless you like having your ears singed." Her blush deepened. Edward grinned.

"If you say so." He turned back to Heather. "Well, I'll stop embarrassing you. Thank you, Mrs. Beck. And thank you, General, for all your work."

She nodded. He came to attention. The president nodded, dismissing them.

General Beck escorted his rosy-cheeked wife off the platform. When they were out of sight of the crowd, she smacked his arm.

"Eddy, if you ever do anything like that to me again, I'll – I'll -" She was cut off by his kiss.

~fin~


End file.
